Inoue overcomes early knockdown, dominates Cardenas to remain undefeated with 8th-round TKO

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Naoya Inoue remained undefeated after retaining the undisputed junior featherweight title with an eighth-round technical knockout of Ramon Cardenas on Sunday night in front of a packed house inside T-Mobile Arena and a nationally televised audience on ESPN.

Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), who was knocked down in the second round, played the aggressor much of the fight by using precision and power to carve his way through Cardenas (26-2), frequently sending the announced 8,474 gathering into a frenzy.

“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Ionue said. “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 Japanese icon, affectionately known as “Monster,” landed 57 of 103 power punches (55%) in the sixth and seventh rounds alone, per CompuBox.

Ionue, fighting in Las Vegas for the first time in four years, was ahead by identical scores of 68-63 on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of stoppage.

“The fans here were supportive and great,” said Ionue, 32. “And I hope I was able to entertain them.”

Inoue opened the fight with confidence by landing several shots.

But in charging forward in the second round, Ionue walked directly into Cardenas’ right-handed counter, dropping the undefeated champion.

It wouldn’t take long for Ionue to shake off the miscue, as he continued to dominate by picking his spots, going from the body to the head, wearing down his challenger. By the end of the fourth round, Ionue had landed 48 of the 90 punches thrown, including 33 power shots.

Cardenas, though, appeared to absorb everything, while countering when he could.

Inoue caught Cardenas near the halfway point of the sixth round and drove him into the corner while landing several combos. With Cardenas throwing counters, Ionue used the final 18 seconds to pulverize the 29-year-old challenger.

Inoue scored his first knockdown of the fight in the seventh round, catching Cardenas in the corner and dropping him after landing four consecutive rights.

Knowing he had his opponent defeated, Ionue was relentless in the eighth round, eventually prompting referee Thomas Taylor to step in.

“He’s pound-for-pound one of the greatest fighters on the planet,” Cardenas said.

Ionue is scheduled to fight a mandatory bout against Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September, in what could be his toughest challenge to date.

The co-main event saw Mexico’s Rafael Espinoza (27-0, 23 KOs) retain his WBO featherweight belt with a TKO of Edward Vazquez (17-3) at 1:47 of the seventh round. Espinoza dominated in all seven rounds, pouring it on with a bevy of punches from the fourth round until referee Harvey Dock stepped in to stop the fight.

Rohan Polanco dropped Fabian Maidana with a thunderous body shot in the 10th round and went on to win by unanimous decision. With the win, Polanco (16-0, 10 KOs) retained his minor welterweight title. Maidana fell to 24-4.

Emiliano Vargas (14-0, 12 KOs) used a vicious combination that finished with a left uppercut to the face of Juan Leon (11-3-1) for a second-round technical knockout at 1:40. Vargas is the son of former two-time light middleweight champion, Fernando Vargas.

AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing

Emiliano Fernando Vargas knocks down Juan Leon in a junior welterweight boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Rohan Polanco knocks down Fabian Maidana in a welterweight boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Fabian Maidana hits Rohan Polanco in a welterweight boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Rafael Espinoza hits Edward Vazquez in a featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edward Vazquez hits Rafael Espinoza in a featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Rafael Espinoza hits Edward Vazquez in a featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Rafael Espinoza hits Edward Vazquez in a featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Naoya Inoue kneels on the mat after he was knocked down by Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Naoya Inoue hits Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Naoya Inoue, right, knocks down Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Naoya Inoue hits Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Naoya Inoue hits Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Ramon Cardenas hits Naoya Inoue in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Naoya Inoue hits Ramon Cardenas in a junior featherweight title boxing match Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's protesting university students on Sunday collected signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election that they hope would oust the autocratic government of President Aleksandar Vucic from office.

Braving freezing weather, the students set up nearly 500 stands in dozens of cities, towns and villages in the Balkan country for residents to sign the election demand, which isn't a formal petition. Students have said that Sunday’s action was meant to put further pressure on Vucic and as a test of support.

Young protesters have been at the forefront of a nationwide movement against Vucic's populist rule in Serbia. More than a year of street protests first started in November 2024 after a train station disaster that killed 16 people.

The concrete canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad was widely blamed on alleged rampant corruption and disregard of construction and safety rules during renovation work at the station. No one has been held responsible for the tragedy.

Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early vote, but has suggested that it could be held sometime next year. Both parliamentary and presidential elections are otherwise due in 2027.

“We have stands that serve to connect with the citizens," said Igor Dojnov, a student manning one of the points in central Belgrade.

Youth-led protests during the past year have shaken Vucic more than ever during his 13-year-long tenure. Serbia's populist prime minister resigned in January, and Vucic later launched a crackdown on protesters that also drew international criticism.

While street protests have subsided, discontent with Vucic's government is believed to be widespread.

Milca Cankovic Kadijevic, a resident of Belgrade, said that she supported the students, because “I have a desire to live decently — me, my children and my grandchildren."

Vucic has formally promised to take Serbia into the European Union, but he has maintained close links with Russia and China, while facing accusations of clamping down on democratic freedoms and allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish.

He has denied this, and accused the protesters of attempting to orchestrate a “color revolution” under unspecified orders from the West. The term “color revolution” has been used to describe a series of mass protests at the beginning of the 21st century that sometimes led to the toppling of governments in the former Soviet Union states, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Asia.

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People stand in silence to commemorate the 16 victims, killed after a railway concrete canopy fell in Nov. 2024 while Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)