“You Can’t Get Hit Like That”: Tim Bradley Praises Inoue’s Resilience After Cardenas Scare, But Warns Against Featherweight Move

Commentator Tim Bradley was impressed with the way undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue came back to win after being knocked down in the second round by Ramon Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) last Sunday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs) ensured he didn’t get hit with another big left from the challenger Cardenas like the one that dropped him with. The Japanese star Inoue eventually wore him down with speed, combination punching, and volume to get an eighth-round technical knockout.

Weekend Savior

Bradley warns that Inoue, 31, cannot keep getting hit like he did against Cardenas if he moves up to featherweight and goes after the titles in that division. Time says the fighters in the 126-lb division hit harder, and will be tougher for the smallish Inoue to beat them.

Inoue has already said that he will stay at 122 for as long as he can make weight. That likely will be for the remainder of his career because he doesn’t have a problem with weight management.

“That’s what we want. We want to be entertained. That was definitely entertaining,” said commentator Tim Bradley to Fight Hub TV about Naoya Inoue’s fight against Ramon Cardenas last Sunday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “I thought it was a solid performance.”

Inoue’s fight against Cardenas brought fans the drama that they’d been missing out on after watching two drab events last Friday in New York and Saturday in Riyadh. Inoue and WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza saved the weekend with their fights.

Featherweight Warning

“You can’t be getting hit with those shots, man,” said Bradley about Inoue getting dropped by Cardenas in the second round. “You can’t be getting hit with those shots and going down like that. Seriously, especially against these caliber guys. This guy [Cardenas] is a real guy. He’s a top 10 guy. He’s been ID’d. He can fight. He has punching power in both hands.”

The way that Naoya was fighting in the first round, he wasn’t aware of how dangerous a puncher Cardenas was. He narrowly missed Inoue with some home run swings with his left, and you could tell that he would catch ‘The Monster’ Inoue sooner or later and put him on the deck. In the second round, it happened, but Naoya could get up and survive the remainder of the round.

“The way he was able to get up, I’m going to give him credit. He got up,” said Bradley about Naoya. “He did the same thing he did with [Luis] Nery [after being dropped by him last year]. He broke this guy down, and he was able to get him up out of there.”

Cardenas’ punch that dropped Inoue was a lot harder than the one Nery put him down with last year. He was hit hard by Cardenas with a left that landed clean. What made it more devastating is that he didn’t see the punch coming.

“However, you [Inoue] want to go up to 126, and you want to try and dominate that division,” said Bradley, warning Inoue about moving up to featherweight. “There are some lions there, too. Dudes that can take your stuff. Remember, he’s a small guy moving up. It’s challenging for him. The guy tonight was like he didn’t really hit that hard with the single punches.”

We saw one of the lions on the undercard, WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza, who would be a pure nightmare for Inoue if he moves up to 126 and looks in his direction for a world title. It’s doubtful that Inoue would be crazy enough to take on the 6’1″ Espinoza because he would know that guy is too big.

TKO Victory

“It was more of an accumulative effect,” said Bradley about Inoue. “It was more the combinations and the speed with which he punches you. It’s frustrating. It’s blazing fast, it’s accurate, and it’s on point. It’s tough to deal with. However, you saw where there are moments where you can take advantage of Inoue. You have to know them,” said Bradley.

Cardenas took advantage of one of those moments in the second round to knock him down. However, he failed to catch Inoue again with a similar punch for the remainder of the fight. That’s his fault because he was retreating to the ropes far too often to have a chance of winning.

“You got to have film study and know them and recognize them. Great finish,” said Bradley about Inoue. “He’s different. He’s a beast. Inoue, after that performance? I don’t think he’s pound-for-pound [#1]. I think Usyk is pound-for-pound #1. I think Crawford is behind him, and I think Inoue is #3. Fantastic night. My gosh, [Rafael] Espinoza and Inoue saved the weekend.”

Even with a film study of Inoue, it will be hard to defeat him unless you’re huge like Rafael Espinoza or have one-punch power. There’s nobody at 122 or 126 that has enough pop to do more than what Cardenas did. The main problems Inoue would have at featherweight are the size of the fighters, and in Espinoza’s case, the volume punching.