By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS — Naoya Inoue’s pound-for-pound campaign resumes Sunday in a return to America against Ramon Cardenas in a T-Mobile Arena fight he calls a good “platform” to exhibit his skillset enroute to a significant September date against Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
On Friday, Inoue confirmed an announcement on social media from promoter Eddie Hearn that he has an agreement to fight Akhmadaliev later in the year.
Inoue told reporters that the agreement, announced on X early Thursday, was “written in stone.” According to a Boxing Scene story published on Thursday, Inoue-Akhmadaliev is planned for Sept. 14 in Tokyo.
It looks as if only Cardenas has a chance to rewrite what looks to be indelible. But it’s not much of a chance. Cardenas has power. The likable San Antonio junior-featherweight has poise. According to prohibitive odds, he also has virtually no chance, which also means he has nothing to lose. But he’s here, he says, to perhaps write his own name in stone. An upset of Inoue would do that. Money, Cardenas said, is not his motivation.
“I’m not here to collect a paycheck and that’s what makes me dangerous,” he said Friday during a formal news conference at the MGM Grand.
For Inoue, now 32, the bout looks to be a chance to re-awaken American fans to his comprehensive collection of skill. From power to precision, it’s all there, swift and deadly.
“The ideal situation is to show the American fans my boxing and win with a knockout,” he said through an interpreter at Friday’s news conference. “But more than anything, I want people to see what they haven’t been able to see yet in the U.S.”
Inoue was asked if Cardenas reminds him of any fighter he’s faced. That’s a tough question. said Inoue, who is in a three-way race with heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk and former welterweight great Terence Crawford for the top spot in the pound-for-pound debate.
“Cardenas is a very well-rounded fighter,” Inoue said.”And I think it’s a good platform to show my boxing skills.”
In part, Cardenas is an interesting opponent for Inoue because of his relationship with Akhmadaliev. They’re stablemates at trainer Joel Diaz’ Boxing Academy in Indio, a hot spot in the California desert between Phoenix and Los Angeles.
For Akhmadaliev and fans, how and what Cardenas does against the dynamic Inoue could provide a good look at what might happen in September.
