Naoya Inoue vs Ramon Cardenas: Start Time, Preview, How To Watch & Keys To Victory

A disappointing weekend of boxing will need "The Monster" to get things back on track.

Undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue will defend his titles against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs), who is one of boxing's top pound-for-pound talents, has won 10 straight fights inside the distance and is coming off a fourth-round knockout of Ye Joon Kim on Jan. 24. He'll be in his first fight in the United States since 2021.

計量パスしました！
最高の仕上がりです⭐︎
明日は自分自身に期待します。 pic.twitter.com/igqyVqTWZq
— 井上尚弥 Naoya Inoue (@naoyainoue_410) May 3, 2025

Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs) enters the title shot on a 14-fight win streak. He is coming off a unanimous decision victory over the previously undefeated Bryan Acosta on Feb. 8.

Here are the keys to victory for both fighters in their undisputed title bout.

Keys to Victory

Naoya Inoue

Inoue can do it all in the ring.

He's a dynamic puncher and one of boxing's hardest punchers pound-for-pound. Inoue holds an advantage in every significant area against Cardenas, as is often the case for "The Monster" every time he steps into the ring.

Inoue has to set the tone early and can't afford to let Cardenas hang around. The more Inoue lets Cardenas hang around, the more of a chance there is that something can go wrong.

UNDISPUTED OFFICIAL.

The Monster takes @ESPN Sunday at 10PM ET 👹 pic.twitter.com/2OCjFKJBKl
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 3, 2025

Inoue also needs to be wary of Cardenas' left hook. Inoue's jab and straight right hand will help him keep Cardenas at the end of his range and limit the chances of him getting caught by a left hook.

Inoue is undoubtedly one of boxing's top talents and pound-for-pound fighters in the world. As long as he's in shape and not overlooking Cardenas, he should be able to get past him and move on to bigger fights later in 2025.

MORE: Naoya Inoue vs Ramon Cardenas Odds And Prediction

Ramon Cardenas

It's an uphill climb for Cardenas, and a win for him would be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

The left hook is arguably Cardenas' best weapon and he does a good job of using it to the head and body. He'll need to try and set that punch up at both levels throughout the night.

How do you shock the world?

“A perfect 36 minutes man, a perfect
36 minutes”

-Ramon Cardenas#InoueCardenas pic.twitter.com/H4qd9v7qwE
— Sal Arteaga (@sal__arteaga) May 4, 2025

Landing some effective body shots early on will help Cardenas slow "The Monster" down. And if he can invest in body shots and get the fight to go rounds, he could have a chance.

Cardenas will need to show he's capable of something he's yet to show in his career. But if he can find that level to his game and put it all together against Inoue, he may have a chanc to flip the boxing world on its head.