The Monster Hits America: Inoue v Cardenas Preview and Prediction

PREPARED FOR THE RETURN? 👹

Witness The Monster live 🎟️

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing)

For the uninformed, don’t let Inoue’s 5’5″ frame fool you. He’s as scary and elite as they come inside the boxing ring.

Known as “The Monster”, the 32-year-old holds a perfect record of 29-0 with 26 knockouts. He’s a pint-sized predator out for blood, the type who doesn’t stop until he destroys his opponent.

He’s already one of the all-time greats, a four-weight world champion and a two-weight undisputed kingpin. Now, he returns to America for the first time since 2021 looking to put on a show and put down San Antonio native Cardenas.

Inoue’s legendary gold rush began with his April 2014 knockout of Adrian Hernandez to win the WBC light flyweight title. He continued his decade-plus run of dominance with seven defences of the WBO junior bantamweight world title before a nine-fight run at bantamweight that concluded with his stoppage of Paul Butler to win the undisputed title. He toppled future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire twice at bantamweight, including a second-round stoppage in June 2022.

Inoue became the undisputed junior featherweight champion in just two fights, knocking out then-unified champions Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales in 2023. Last May, he packed over 50,000 fans into the Tokyo Dome, rising from a first-round knockdown to stop former two-division king Luis Nery in six. He has since made two more defences of the undisputed crown, knocking out TJ Doheny in seven and late replacement Ye Joon Kim in four.

Cardenas, who holds a solid record of 26-1 with 14 knockouts, enters his first world title assignment on a 14-fight winning streak, a run of success that began with a September 2017 decision victory over Gabino Hernandez. He graduated to contender in 2024 with a pair of gut checks, forcing Israel Rodriguez Picazo to retire on his stool with a broken jaw and knocking out Eduardo Ramirez in the ninth round of a competitive fight.

Cardenas returned to headline in San Antonio last month, overcoming a sixth-round knockdown to earn a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Bryan Acosta. Following the Acosta victory, Cardenas called for the Inoue showdown, saying, “I want to fight the best.” He now gets a monster opportunity to author a Las Vegas upset for the ages.

Looking at each fighter, Inoue’s toxic combination of technical precision and concussive power makes him a unique force of nature. His ruthless efficiency in breaking down opponents is the key to his success and he manipulates distance masterfully.

As for massive underdog Cardenas, both his hand speed and counter-punching ability are underrated. He has good fundamentals, moves his head off the centre line and throws combinations rather than single shots that serve him well.

However, “Dinamita” has never faced anyone remotely close to Inoue’s level. For the 29-year-old to have any chance of shocking the world, he must have constant movement and disciplined punch selection.

As smart as he is skillful, Inoue is naturally aggressive but will likely employ a measured approach to download data before unleashing his full arsenal. I can see his brilliant body work being highlighted as Cardenas’ upright stance leaves his midsection vulnerable.

Whichever way you slice it, the accumulative damage Inoue is set to inflict will be too much for Cardenas to withstand and will see the Japanese icon stand tall.

Prediction: Inoue by knockout.
Best Bet: Under 7.5 rounds at 1.50.