Inoue overcomes knockdown to retain undisputed crown

With the eighth-round stoppage of American Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas, Japan’s Naoya Inoue climbed off the canvas to keep his status as undisputed super-bantamweight world champion.

Before referee Thomas Taylor intervened, Inoue recovered and unleashed a barrage of punches at the start of the eighth round after being knocked down for just the second time in his career in the second round.

With his 27th knockout victory, Inoue marked his first fight outside of Japan since 2021 with a record of 30-0.

Everyone is aware that Inoue enjoys brawling, she said.

When Inoue was dropped by a crushing underdog Cardenas late in the second round, he recovered, made it to the bell, and sat down.

Through a translator, Inoue continued, “I was very surprised but I was able to calmly pull myself together.”

“I thought I had a good distance in the first round, but it kind of got a little loose in the second round. I made sure I didn’t repeat that punch right away.

Inoue launched an attack, but Cardenas refused to back down, so the pair fought back in a bruising fourth round.

At the conclusion of round seven, Inoue’s strength eventually became too great, leading to Cardenas’ brutal bodyshot wounds, which were followed by four right hands to the head.

At the start of the eighth, he completed the task and sent Cardenas scurrying into the ropes with yet another punishment just before the referee intervened.

With the seventh-round stoppage of American Edward Vazquez, Mexico’s unbeaten Rafael Espinosa increased to 27-0 on the undercard.