By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS — It was supposed to be the Naoya Inoue show. In the end, it was.
But the script took an unlikely turn produced by an unlikely fighter, Ramon Cardenas, who for a few seconds looked as if he had pulled off his own Rocky moment.
Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs), an unknown and unheralded San Antonio junior-featherweight, damn near stole the show Sunday night on ESPN.
He didn’t. In the end, Inoue prevailed, doing what he and everybody in a roaring crowd at T-Mobile Arena believed he would. He scored
an eighth-round TKO of Cardenas.
But he had to get up to do it. Cardenas had been portrayed as a bit player in Inoue’s first trip to America in four years. He was there, on the stage a little bit like a punching bag. He was supposed to be part of a planned showcase of Inoue’s dynamic skills.
But apparently Cardenas didn’t read the script. He had his own role to play, and he delivered his opening line in the second round.
He put Inoue down with a left hand. Inoue, who had also been down against Luis Nery, suddenly appeared vulnerable. He was dazed. The crowd was stunned. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum must have been squirming.
This was a moment not in the script.
It was also a moment that said something about Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), still the junior-featherweight division’s undisputed champion. Actually, he said it himself.
“I like to brawl,’’ Inoue said.
Good thing he does. If he hadn’t, he might have lost his prominent place in the pound-for-pound debate.
The brawling proved to be Inoue’s survival instinct. He got up, walked slowly to his corner, and slowly, yet stubbornly, began to break down Cardenas.
“I knew after the second round, I could not get caught by his left hand again,’’ Inoue said. “I didn’t.’’
Instead, he began to measure distance and range. From the third through the fifth, he began to catch Cardenas, who continued with punching exchanges that echoed throughout T-Mobile.
Espinoza retains featherweight title with seventh-round stoppage
He’s a singer. And fighter.
The beat went on for Rafael Espinoza Saturday in the final fight before the Naoya-Ramon Cardenas main event at T-Mobile Arena.
Espinoza stayed unbeaten, hitting every tune and pounding an incoming Edward Vazquez like a drum for six plus rounds for a seventh-round stoppage in a solid defense of his World Boxing Council featherweight title.
The game Vazquez was simply too small for the rangy Espinoza, who entertained the crowd after his with quote and a couple Mexican ballads.
In the opening round, a bulldog-like Vazquez flashed his trademark aggressiveness dodging in, out, under and around Espinoza’s huge advantages in height and reach.
As the round ended, Vasquez (17-3, 4 KOs), a Mexican-American from Fort Worth TX, brought the crowd to its feet when he backed up Espinoza (27-0 23 KOs), putting the defending champion on the ropes.
In the third, however, it looked as if Vasquez had lost some of the bounce in his feet, allowing Espinoza to to plant and put leverage into his height and reach. He began to catch Vazquez with repeated head-rocking blows.
It was more of the same in the fourth.
And the fifth.
Vazquez looked dazed as he walked wearily to his corner after the fifth. Retired Mexican great Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera, who has been working with Espinoza, smiled from his ringside seat.
Within a couple of rounds, Barrera could cheer. At 1:47 of the seventh, it was over, Espinoza a TKO winner.
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Rohan Polanco dominates, scores excision over Maidana
Too much power. Too many jabs. Too much strength.
Rohan Polanco had too much of everything, overwhelming Fabian Maidana on the Naoya Inoue-Ramon Cardenas card at Mobile Arena.
Polanco (16-0, 10 KOs), a ranked welterweight contender from The Dominican Republic, did all of the stalking in the early moments, repeatedly backing Maidana (24-4, 18 KOs) into the ropes with a jab that was as precise as it was long.
For the next couple of rounds, Maidana looked for a way around, under, that jab. But there was no path through Polanco’s stubborn defense. In the fourth, Madana stepped forward.
But Polanco was there with a push instead of a punch. Maidana fell flat on his rear end. It was not a knockdown. But it was a sure sign that Polanco was just stronger. In the sixth, a weary Maidana began to slow down.
Polanco noticed. He smiled, almost mocking Maidana. Then, he unloaded a succession of body blows. It was just a matter of time, Still, Maidana held on, surviving a 10th-round knockdown. A body blow put him on hands and knees.
Seconds later, there was the inevitable defeat — 100-89 on all three scorecards, a one-sided loss to Polanco.
