LOS ANGELES – It’s a forever badge that Ramon Cardenas carries: He once knocked down the generational great and pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue.
As rare as the feat is, Cardenas wants more than that – be it another shot at Inoue, a 122lbs belt, just something beyond the defining snapshot.
The quest continues Saturday night on the main card of ProBoxTV’s show at USC’s Galen Center here as WBC/WBA No. 2-ranked Cardenas, 27-2 (15 KOs), meets Colombia’s Leonardo Carrillo, 20-1-1 (9 KOs).
“I think we’ll take care of him. I hope relatively early,” Cardenas told BoxingScene when reminded Carrillo’s lone defeat came on a trip to Russia versus Mukhammad Shekhov. “I sparred [Shekhov]. I know styles make fights. That guy was a good boxer. I think I have way more power than that guy, so I might catch [Carrillo] … .”
As Cardenas has already displayed, power punching is his ‘X’ factor, a weapon that floored Japan’s unbeaten, four-division champion Inoue in the second round of their 2025 title fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“It’s like the Mike Tyson [saying] that ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.’ For me, it’s the same,” Cardenas said. “When I’ve sparred with people before, we start by boxing. As soon as I hit them, they don’t want to get hit anymore. Once I crack him one time and he feels I pack a punch, he’s going to want to box and that’s when the night will be ours.”
Inoue was the exception, getting past the knockdown to retaliate and stop Cardenas in the eighth round.
Contenders aren’t lining up to fight the San Antonio product after that. He returned to knock out Erik Robles Ayala in December, and now meets Carrillo with an eye on gaining a bout against former bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani, who lost to Inoue by decision in May.
Inoue is currently weighing whether to fight for a fifth division title at featherweight or meet three-division champion and Cardenas’ San Antonio friend, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, early in 2027 in Japan.
As the 2025 replacement foe for Inoue, Cardenas said he set up Inoue with the left hand by employing his own cultivated move, shifting his body left and right three times before delivering the punch on the button.
“That little move – that trick – I always do it. It’s not something that came out of the blue. It’s a trick I do in the gym. I learned it along the way, and it’s not a boxing move,” Cardenas said.
“Coaches can teach you how to throw a correct 1-2, but for me, I move left, then fake right and then fake left, then fake right and boom! I hit him. It’s a trick of the trade.”
How gratifying to know a self-taught maneuver caught the best fighter of the generation off guard.
“It’s cool, because, here in the gym, the coaches tell the other fighters, ‘Be careful with [Cardenas], he’ll be doing that little trick,’” he said. “They know it’s like being an electrician or plumber … the guys who learn tricks along the way. I learned that, and it worked.”
When it was asked, “I assume you know more than one trick,” Cardenas responded, “A little bit.”
He’s sought to enhance his game by aligning since the Inoue bout with trainer Manny Robles.
“Coach Manny says, ‘You have power, we know that. What we need from you is to throw more punches,’” Cardenas said. “We watched [Carrillo’s] last couple fights. Honestly, I just need to be me [to win]. Keep doing the things we’re working on, throwing more punches. They count my punches and they’re all up my ass about throwing punches – more than 50 a round. I’m not that type of fighter, but I’ve been doing a good job.”
Cardenas said Robles has been an ideal, demanding coach.
“He’s making what I already do good and making the things I lack on better,” Cardenas said. “He’s always getting mad at me, but I love that because it shows that he cares. He’s on me and there’s a reason. I understand what he expects of me – to be a better fighter – and that’s why I have trust in him.”
Cardenas is averaging a seven-minute mile in his five-mile runs, and he’sa employed new shadow boxing drills and somersaulting ring exercises to strengthen his cardio and overall strength.
“I feel really good. I try to give my all every time,” he said. “It’s been a lot of work, but I know when I’m tired, I’m doing something right. I tell myself, ‘I’m not tired.’ This camp has been about a lot of mind tricks.”
And as Inoue knows, Cardenas can master those tricks.
