Japanese undisputed super bantamweight (122 lbs) champion Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KO’s) is set to make his US return after he was announced to be fighting at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, against American challenger Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KO’s). The two will be headlining a Top Rank card on Sunday, May 4th, further marking Inoue’s first fight under the Top Rank brand without his current promoter, Ohashi Promotions.
Cardenas, 29, is currently ranked in the top 10 with the WBA, WBO and IBF, and currently holds a career-high position at #2 on the WBA’s 122 lbs rankings. Cardenas further possesses a solid resume, having recorded solid wins over other decent contenders, but has yet to challenge for a world title.
Given Inoue’s experience and ability, Cardenas will be heading into the match as an underdog with no actual expectation of winning, but the fight will nonetheless mark a significant step of his almost 10-year career.
For Naoya Inoue, however, his upcoming fight with Cardenas will undergo more scrutiny given his top 3 pound-for-pound (P4P) position.
The Japanese champion’s bout against Cardenas will be a voluntary defense of all his 122 lbs titles but might culminate in him being stripped of the WBA title prior or after his May 4th fight. Now faced with his third opponent after being ordered to face current WBA interim champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KO’s) in 2024, it is likely Akmadaliev’s team will spur the WBA to see Inoue stripped of his WBA title.
Notably, no actual mandate by any of the sanctioning bodies ― including the WBA ― was launched following Inoue’s win over substitute opponent Yee Doon Kim in January, but a fight with Akhmadaliev is still long overdue given the sanctioning body’s initial order and Inoue’s choice to face a lesser-ranked TJ Doheny after being granted an exemption by the WBA to make Akhmadaliev, Inoue’s WBA mandatory challenger, step aside.
Whether Inoue’s title will be vacated will be dependent on the WBA whose history of favoritism and inconsistency might not actually spell the end of Inoue’s undisputed run. However, with enough pressure, expected to be exerted by Akhmadaliev’s promoter ― Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn ― and manager Vadim Kornilov could result in Inoue no longer holding the WBA title in the near future.
