Inoue Survives Early Knockdown; KO's Cardenas in Six

Japan’s undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue (30-0, 27 KO’s) once again survived an early knockdown and got off the canvas to score an eighth round knockout over Ramon Cardenas (26-2, 14 KO’s) of San Antonio, Texas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in headlining on ESPN.

The challenger Cardenas came out aggressive as the champ Inoue boxed patiently behind the jab. Exchanging to close the second round, a huge left hook by Cardenas dropped the champ Inoue as he got up at the bell. Inoue stepped it up in round three, backing Cardenas to the ropes and chopping him as the challenger stood in the pocket swinging and missing the same left hook from the previous round. The action picked up in the fourth as the champ began banging away at Cardenas, cornering him and connecting with a hard right hand.

Fighting at a fast pace in the fifth, Inoue and Cardenas exchanged. A crushing right hand by Inoue stopped Cardenas's momentum as the Monster backed the Texan, breaking down Cardenas in the corner and on the ropes. With the Japanese contingency on their feet chanting on Inoue, the champ pressed Cardenas in the seventh finally dropping him and sending him to the corner for a knockdown. Inoue came out strong in the eighth and finished Cardenas off with a series of unanswered punches as referee Thomas Taylor stepped in to stop the fight at 45 seconds of the eighth round.

Divino KO's Vasquez

Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico’s WBO featherweight champion Rafael “Divino” Espinoza (27-0, 23 KOs) scored a seventh round stoppage over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) of Fort Worth, Texas as El Divino successfully defended his title in the co-feature.

The height and size disparity was obvious from the opening bell as the champ measured with the jab and timed Vasquez with short uppercuts. Espinoza attacked Vasquez throughout the fight as referee Harvey Dock kept a close eye on Vasquez. Espinoza stayed on top of Vasquez in the fifth outworking and cornering Vasquez as the Texas fighter hung. Espinoza delivered his final offensive, backing Vasquez to the ropes forcing referee Harvey Dock to stop the fight at 1:47 of the seventh.

Polanco Shines

Dominican welterweight Rohan Polanco (16-0, 10 KOs) was dominant in winning a unanimous decision over Fabian Maidana (24-4, 18 KOs) of Argentina in a 10-round bout. Displaying the skills early on, Polanco fired away the piston like jab from the opening bell in backing Maidana. Controlling the pace in the second round, Polanco kept at it working off the jab and setting up solid shots as Maidana was limited with his offense. Working away in the third, Polanco kept up the pace as Maidana could not get a rhythm or offense going. The Argentine stepped up the pace in the fourth but immediately slipped as Polanco’s defensive skills worked against Maidana’s attack, Polanco attacked precisely in picking his shots. Boxing effectively, Polanco began showboating in the fifth and having his way with Maidana.

The second half of the fight continued to go Polanco’s way, controlling the pace with the jab and keeping Maidana at a distance. Polanco was down in the eighth but from a slip as he got up and continued to assert control as the Argentine fighter could not get anything going. Late in the fight in the ninth, Polanco’s jab continued to be the key in controlling Maidana and the fight. Closing the show in the tenth and final round, Polanco kept at it boxing smart and working off the jab as Maidana looked to make it to the final bell. Polanco finished strong by dropping Maidana in the final minute of In what was a solid and dominant performance by the Dominican. After completing ten rounds, all three judges scored the bout 100-89

Emiliano Vargas Scores KO

The son of legend and former world champion Fernando Vargas, junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas made a quick return to the ring in scoring a second round stoppage over Spain’s Juan Leon (11-2-1, 2 KOs). Vargas drilled Leon in round two with a right hand, left hook combination sending him to the canvas. The Spaniard was up fighting but Vargas sent him to canvas a second time and put him away for good as the referee stopped the fight 1:40 of the second.

Mikito Nakano Gets the KO

Japanese featherweight Mikito Nakano (13-0, 12 KOs) scored a fourth round knockout over Puerto Rico’s Pedro Marquez (16-2, 10 KO’s). Nakano sent Marquez to the canvas twice in the second round. The Japanese fighter showed no mercy as he floored Marquez once again in the fourth with a body shot and finished him off with another crunching body shot as the referee Harvey Dock waived it at 1:58.

Other Bouts

Junior middleweight prospect Art Barrera Jr. (9-0, 7 KO’s) of Lynwood, California scored a sixth round stoppage over Juan Carlos Guerra (6-2-1, 2KO’s) of Chicago. The undefeated Barrera was the aggressor most of the fight as he outworked Guerra. Late in the fight in the fifth, Barrera connected with a solid right hand but Guerra kept coming. Closing strong late in the fight, Barrera finished off Guerra in the sixth and final round as referee Thomas Taylor had seen enough stopping the fight at 1:15.

In the opening bout from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, featherweight Raeese Aleem (22-1, 12 KO’s) of Muskegon, Michigan won a unanimous decision over Rudy Garcia (13-2-1, 2 KO’s) of South Central, Los Angeles. It was a smart hard fought fight for Aleem as he tagged up and outboxed a game Garcia as he displayed toughness in going the distance. Judges scored the fight 99-91, 98-92, and 97-93.

Dominican welterweight Rohan Polanco (16-0, 10 KOs) was dominant in winning a unanimous decision over Fabian Maidana (24-4, 18 KOs) of Argentina in a 10-round bout. Displaying the skills early on, Polanco fired away the piston like jab from the opening bell in backing Maidana. Controlling the pace in the second round, Polanco kept at it working off the jab and setting up solid shots as Maidana was limited with his offense. Working away in the third, Polanco kept up the pace as Maidana could not get a rhythm or offense going. The Argentine stepped up the pace in the fourth but immediately slipped as Polanco’s defensive skills worked against Maidana’s attack, Polanco attacked precisely in picking his shots. Boxing effectively, Polanco began showboating in the fifth and having his way with Maidana.

The second half of the fight continued to go Polanco’s way, controlling the pace with the jab and keeping Maidana at a distance. Polanco was down in the eighth but from a slip as he got up and continued to assert control as the Argentine fighter could not get anything going. Late in the fight in the ninth, Polanco’s jab continued to be the key in controlling Maidana and the fight. Closing the show in the tenth and final round, Polanco kept at it boxing smart and working off the jab as Maidana looked to make it to the final bell. Polanco finished strong by dropping Maidana in the final minute of In what was a solid and dominant performance by the Dominican. After completing ten rounds, all three judges scored the bout 100-89