Ramon Cardenas on Dropping Inoue, Sparring Nakatani and Title Fight

Ramon Cardenas floored Naoya Inoue with a vicious counter left hook nearly a year ago, then logged 99 rounds of sparring with Junto Nakatani in preparation for his December comeback. Now the San Antonio junior featherweight is watching both men collide Saturday night at Tokyo Dome, and he calls the undisputed title clash a genuine toss-up.

Cardenas tried to land a spot on the undercard but negotiations stalled, so he will stream the fight from home on DAZN. The Mexican-American contender, ranked fifth at 122 pounds by The Ring, pushed Inoue to the limit last March before getting stopped in the eighth round of a fight-of-the-year candidate. He returned in December and blasted Erik Robles Ayala in five rounds, spending camp in Los Angeles as Nakatani's chief sparring partner ahead of the Japanese star's bout with Sebastian Hernandez a week later.

Cardenas sees problems for both fighters in Tokyo Dome clash

Speaking to The Ring, Cardenas said the sparring sessions with Nakatani were carefully tracked and conducted at roughly half intensity. "We were just working on our craft and skills. We weren't trying to kill each other, but I did try to push him and make it rough and tough on him," he explained. Nakatani struggled with Hernandez before winning a unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia, just as Inoue laboured against Cardenas before rallying. Cardenas believes Nakatani's length will be a factor if the challenger can control distance and deny Inoue the rhythm that fuels his accumulation punching.

Cardenas stunned Inoue at the end of the second round with a counter left, forcing the champion to recover between frames. He noted that Inoue has since drilled extensively to keep his right hand high and neutralize that same punch. "You can tell that Inoue has worked on neutralizing the left hand connecting on him ever since fighting me," Cardenas said. He added that whoever commits the first major error will pay, though he doubts either man gets stopped given their ability to adjust mid-fight.

The 27-2 contender declined to pick a winner outright, citing respect for both fighters and his own ambitions to face them again. "I want to avoid saying who's the better fighter or who will win, because it's damned if I do, damned if I don't," he said. "The best answer I can give is that boxing will win." He praised both men for meeting in their primes rather than chasing unbeaten records, calling the matchup an example the sport desperately needs. The fight streams live on DAZN beginning at 5:40 a.m. ET.

Source: ringmagazine.com