Las Vegas lit up for a super‑bantamweight showcase, with Naoya “Monster” Inoue head‑lining at T‑Mobile Arena and a tall featherweight champion, fast‑rising prospects, and a famous boxing family name packing out the undercard. Fans wanted to see whether Inoue’s knockout streak would continue, how Rafael Espinoza would handle a much shorter challenger, and if the younger names could stay perfect under the bright lights.
Naoya Inoue hit the deck from a Ramon Cardenas left hook late in round 2 but roared back, belting the Texan’s body and head until Cardenas was helpless 45 seconds into round 8. It’s win No. 30 with 27 stoppages for the Japanese star, who keeps his WBO, WBC and IBF 122‑lb belts.
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Six‑foot featherweight Rafael Espinoza used height and heavy uppercuts to punish Edward Vázquez, busting the challenger’s nose, then pounding him on the ropes until a seventh‑round finish at 1:47 kept Espinoza unbeaten.
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Welterweight prospect Rohan Polanco scored a late body‑shot knockdown and swept every round (100‑89 three times) against rugged Fabian Maidana, while former title challenger Ra’eese Aleem picked off Rudy Garcia on the counter to claim cards of 98‑92, 97‑93 and 99‑91.
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Japanese southpaw puncher Mikito Nakano dropped Pedro Marquez four times - twice to the head, twice to the body - before referee Harvey Dock stopped it at 1:58 of round 4. Super‑lightweight Emiliano Vargas kept the family KO tradition alive, flooring Juan León twice in round 2 for his 12th stoppage in 14 wins. Art Barrera Jr. wore down Juan Carlos Guerra and forced a sixth‑round halt, while cruiserweight swing‑bout newcomer Patrick O’Connor settled for a four‑round decision over Marcus Smith to close a busy Las Vegas card.
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Image Credit: Top Rank