Two men have given Naoya Inoue real trouble lately.
Now they could be fighting each other.
Japan's Junto "Big Bang" Nakatani is reportedly set to return in February on DAZN — and the name in the other corner is Ramon Cardenas.
Yes. THAT Ramon Cardenas.
The Texan who put Inoue on the seat of his pants with a left hook in round two in Las Vegas last year, before the Monster got up and stopped him in the eighth.
Nakatani took Inoue the full 12 at Tokyo Dome in May. He lost the decision — his first defeat — and came away with a fractured left orbital bone.
The good news ? Japanese reports say the fracture has healed, and he plans to be back sparring in December.
Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz says Cardenas has a deal with Nakatani's promoter Akihiko Honda. The WBC has them ranked No. 1 and No. 2 at super bantamweight.
So what's on the line ?
If Inoue moves up to featherweight as planned — the full WBC title. If not, an interim belt.
Either way, the winner walks out as the man next in line at 122.
Cardenas isn't short of confidence either :
"ONCE AGAIN YALL TRIPPING IF YALL THINK IM COMING TO LOSE. SEE YALL SOON."
A three-division world champion coming off his first loss.
A slugger who already knows how to put a pound-for-pound king on the floor.
No tune-up. No easy road back.
Big Bang is going straight back into the fire !!
🇯🇵 JUNTO NAKATANI (32-1, 24 KOs) vs RAMON CARDENAS (28-2, 15 KOs) 🇺🇸
🥊 Super Bantamweight | WBC title (interim or vacant)
📅 February 2027 (target date, not yet officially announced)
📺 DAZN (reported)
Stay tuned !
Sources:
Bad Left Hook, Patrick Stumberg (9 Nov 2026) — https://www.badlefthook.com/boxing-news/120257/junto-nakatani-vs-ramon-cardenas-reportedly-eyed-for-february-on-dazn
MiddleEasy, Jake Blend (9 Nov 2026) — https://middleeasy.com/boxing/junto-nakatani-ramon-cardenas-february2027-dazn-report/
BoxingNews24, Tom Galm (10 Nov 2026) — https://www.boxingnews24.com/2026/11/ramon-cardenas-tests-junto-nakatani-after-inoue-loss/
"The Ferocious" Carlo Magali looking absolutely shredded at the BATTLEFIELD weigh in just moments ago.
National champion Magali takes on the unbeaten freak talent King's Warrior Charly Suarez in a bout which will decide both RP and WBA Asia titles.
Both fighters weighed in within the Super Featherweight limit at 129 pounds.
Action takes place tomorrow at the Elorde Sports Centre in Parañaque.
Perhaps one of the unluckiest boxers in recent months is high octane performer Jino Rodrigo. The "Silent Beast" has been the victim of multiple fight cancelations, including an international challenge in Kazakhstan. But Borat's loss is Philippines' gain, and the big news breaking today is that GAB has approved the late inclusion of Rodrigo at BATTLEFIELD UKC TIGER 2O22.
Jino Rodrigo takes on a previous opponent in Kelvin Tenorio, a fighter who he edged a points victory over back in 2018. Tenorio managed to survive onslaughts from top prospects like Jose Roda Jr and Carlo Bacaro, so this should be a really good clash.
And Jino is a MADMAN !
You will never see the Silent Beast in a boring fight - this is a guy that always tries to put the judges out of a job !
If there is a Knockout to be had, Jino Rodrigo is the man to deliver it, because he carries the sleeping pills in both hands !
BATTLEFIELD UKC TIGER 2O22
Elorde Sports Centre Paranaque Manila Sunday October 23rd
Despite suffering narrow losses, Ben Ligas and Jules Victoriano produced next level performances in the belt fights in Vietnam last night.
Ligas faced the vastly experienced Uzbek, the much revered "mini Tyson " Olimjon Nazarov. This was quality boxing from both, with "the Sniper" bringing the cleaner punches, but perhaps lacking the aggression of Nazarov, who looked constantly keen for work. This was a hard match to score, as neither fighter was particularly dominant in a see sawing affair, and the body shot in the 11th where Ligas took a knee was perhaps the only real difference.
Dinh Hong Quan is physically indomitable, and with his height and reach, this improving Vietnam boxer is a task for anybody. It was anticipated that Jules Victoriano would give him his toughest test to date, and he definitely didn't disappoint !
This was a great fight, and is probably best viewed in two parts. Victoriano boxed beautifully in the early rounds, but despite landing nice shots, the Vietnam champ kept stealing rounds with some heavier and more direct landed shots. Quan also "appeared" more dominant, more frequently backing Victoriano up and putting him on to combos.
Going into the second half of the fight, Victoriano definitely lifted his output and accuracy, and even gave the Vietnam opponent a couple of "dig deep" moments !
This was an exciting and fantastic match up, that very easily could have been scored a draw, it was that evenly contested! There is no doubt that Dinh Hong Quan produced the best performance of his career last night, and this was really needed because of the beautiful boxing skills displayed by Jules Victoriano.
VSP would love to see these two great young fighters rematch at a later date, maybe on a bigger stage!
Post event, all smiles, and pictured are Coach Toto Laurente, Ben Ligas, VSP Vietnam boss Lim Song, and Jules Victoriano. Great job by all !
