Naoya Inoue and Ramon Cardenas prove that boxing doesn’t need gimmicks, just well-matched fights

It was as if Sunday night’s undisputed super bantamweight title fight reset boxing’s dial.

Following a weekend of gimmicks — spearheaded by a VIP-attended card in Times Square, New York and a sparsely-attended breakfast fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Naoya Inoue and Ramon Cardenas put on an all-action fight in Las Vegas, culminating in “The Monster” retaining his undisputed titles at the 122-pound limit.

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Thanks to an eighth-round TKO, Inoue has now stopped his last 11 opponents — all in world championship contests. He last heard the final bell in 2019 after besting Nonito Donaire in the final of the World Boxing Super Series.

But it wasn’t without drama for Inoue. The champion touched the canvas in the second round following a beautifully timed counter left hook from Cardenas, but all this seemed to do was poke “The Monster,” who retaliated with vengeance in the subsequent rounds.

Inoue grew stronger and more destructive as the rounds ticked by, nearly getting his man out of there in the sixth round. A gallant Cardenas was saved by the bell.

Inoue scored his first knockdown of the fight in the seventh round, trapping Cardenas in the corner and dropping him after landing four consecutive right hands. The ending came in the subsequent round as referee Thomas Taylor stepped in after a barrage of unanswered punches.

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“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Ionue said post-fight. “I was very surprised [at the knockdown], but I took things calmly and put myself together. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.”

“The fans here were supportive and great,” he added. “And I hope I was able to entertain them.”

Without wanting to indulge in too much hyperbole, Inoue and Cardenas saved a weekend of boxing that would otherwise have been remembered for gimmicks and novelty fights.

Each punch from either man inside the T-Mobile Arena on Sunday night was met with a deafening “oooh” or “aaah,” and both men fed off of this virile atmosphere, putting on what could be considered as a Fight of the Year contender.

It’s a pretty simple equation, but one the sport is seemingly trying to veer away from. Get two well-matched fighters in a ring together and make sure fans can attend, and you’re more than likely going to strike gold.

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But the more playing cards that Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi Public Investment Fund hold within the infrastructure of the sport, the more common these gimmicks will become. After all, when you have an endless pit of money at your disposal, why would you need fans in attendance when you are effectively putting on a television advertisement to promote your country?

Alalshikh’s forces have their foot so firmly in the door that those voices holding them to account are going to get fewer and quieter. Fans have been charmed by a number of superfights over the past 18 months, but when this initial sugar spike disappears, the foundation of what makes boxing such an incredible sport needs to remain.

Following the uninspiring Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando “Rolly” Romero and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. William Scull fights, Inoue vs. Cardenas gave the sport a much-needed shot in the arm to close out the weekend.

Two guys laying it all on the line for glory, rather than unsustainable inflated paychecks and the approval of a man who insists to be called “His Excellency.”