Junto Nakatani Analyzes Inoue’s May Title Defense Cárdenas Forced to Use Footwork

Clearly from the 4th round onward

On May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Naoya Inoue (32) defeated Ramon Cárdenas (29) by 8th-round KO, successfully defending his WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO super bantamweight titles.

The WBC bantamweight champion watched the fight on TV from Los Angeles, located 427 kilometers southwest of the T-Mobile Arena, the venue of the match.

At the end of March, during the previous year’s annual awards ceremony held at the Tokyo Dome, Junto Nakatani (27) received a direct challenge from the “Monster” Naoya Inoue. The younger fighter’s eyes lit up at the prospect of facing the superstar who has led the Japanese boxing world for years.

However, with a unification bout against IBF champion Ryosuke Nishida (28) scheduled for June 8, Nakatani hesitated to make a four-hour-plus trip one way along the highway at that time.

At 7:56 PM, as Japan’s national anthem played at the T-Mobile Arena, followed by the U.S. national anthem, the giant ring screen displayed fight scenes featuring legendary champions such as Roberto Durán, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Alexis Argüello, George Foreman, Aaron Pryor, and Thomas Hearns.

All of these legends were promoted by Top Rank, the organizer of the event. After the screen was covered by the words “This is Legacy,” a highlight reel of Inoue’s KOs played to cheers from the crowd. Then both fighters entered the ring.

Nakatani spoke:

“Inoue said that before every match, he feels like a kid on the night before a field trip—so excited that he can’t sleep, eagerly awaiting the day. I think that’s because he’s done the necessary work during training and is ready to face the match.

I feel the same. Every time I walk the path to the ring, I want to show what I prepared in training as soon as possible. Like Inoue, I’m filled with anticipation.”

The renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. introduced the “Monster,” referencing his status as the four-title junior featherweight champion—a term now considered outdated in Japan—before the bell rang.

“Inoue started by shaking his body to set the rhythm and using his jab to observe what punches Cárdenas was throwing. He used the flicker style at times because it made it easier to land his punches.

Since Cárdenas kept his guard tight, Inoue probably tried to break him down with jabs between the two fists. Inoue applied steady pressure with his footwork and was very skillful. I felt Cárdenas would get tired in the later rounds under that pressure.

After the first round, Inoue probably understood what kind of fighter he was facing. In the second round, Cárdenas changed his tactics, throwing big punches with full power, even if they didn’t land.”

In the second round, Inoue continued to advance and throw punches. With 17 seconds left, as he cornered the challenger, Cardenas blocked a punch from the “Monster” but his left hook caught Inoue’s jaw, sending the four-division champion down to the canvas.

“Whether Cardenas was aiming for it or not, I don’t know. But the punch he threw with full force landed perfectly in timing. It was a clean hit in the flow of the fight. Of course, Cardenas was trying to land it, positioning himself well and swinging hard. It happened while Inoue was on the offense.”

In the following third round, Inoue showed no signs of damage and attacked while staying wary of the left hook.

“Cardenas gained momentum, but Inoue prevented the challenger from landing punches and focused on hitting with his own precise boxing. This became even more evident from the fourth round onwards.

Of course, there was some fear, but I believe Inoue clearly saw Cardenas’s punches. Minimizing risk, he landed the punches he aimed for.

It’s true that Inoue lost points due to the knockdown from that unavoidable punch. However, Cardenas kept swinging his left hook aggressively, seemingly intent on knocking Inoue down again.

Since Inoue sensed the challenger’s intent, he was able to control the fight easily. With his power, he could both damage and tire out his opponent. He was controlling the match, using various tactics to exhaust the challenger.”

The four consecutive right straights that stayed in mind

The champion kept pressing, while the challenger was increasingly cornered against the ropes.

“I became confident of Inoue’s victory around the fifth round when signs of fatigue showed on Cárdenas, and he started taking damage. The challenger was even staggering a bit. Inoue’s ability to adjust after being knocked down really stood out—it showed his skill to make in-fight corrections.

Instead of resting and recovering, Inoue kept applying pressure. Even when Cárdenas landed good punches, he was often forced backward by Inoue’s pressure.

So, Cárdenas wasn’t moving his feet by choice; he was being made to move. Inoue constantly created that situation. Truly an exceptional boxer,” said the commentator.

The four-division champion relentlessly unleashed power punches, determined to knock out his opponent.

“Inoue threw many combinations, but what stood out was the four consecutive right straights near the end of the seventh round that floored Cárdenas. He was calm in inflicting damage, carefully analyzing where the opponent was most vulnerable and building his attack accordingly.”

Although Cárdenas got up, he was quickly pushed against the ropes and put on the defensive. Desperately trying to land a left hook to turn the fight around, he was met with an opponent who wouldn’t repeat past mistakes.

During the interval before the eighth round, Cárdenas’ team told him, “Make this the last round,” sending him back out—an obvious decision considering the damage he’d sustained.

Less than a minute later, with Cárdenas trapped against the ropes and taking a barrage of punches, the referee stopped the fight to protect him, ending the match.

According to Compubox counts, Inoue threw a total of 462 punches, while Cárdenas threw 290. Among those, the “Monster” landed clean hits at a rate of 38.1%, while the challenger landed 27.6%.

In terms of jab accuracy, the winner scored 28.1% compared to the loser’s 22.2%. Power punch accuracy was also higher for the champion at 49.1%, while Cárdenas had 34.1%.

“I felt throughout the match that Inoue showed his experience and his ability to recover even in tough situations. I’m glad to have witnessed his come-from-behind KO victory.

Fighting in a huge venue like Las Vegas is very different from boxing in Japan. I respect that he was able to win under such conditions. If you only focus on the moment he was knocked down, you might think it wasn’t a good performance. But overall, I believe this was a match where Inoue demonstrated his full abilities.”

At the post-fight press conference, Hideyuki Ohashi, chairman of the Ohashi Gym where Inoue trains, mentioned a potential fight with Nakaya around May next year.

Upon hearing this, Nakaya concluded,

“First, I will focus fully on the upcoming bantamweight unification bout. I want to face Inoue in top condition with perfect preparation. It’s a step-by-step process of refining myself. Of course, I intend to win.”

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