Ramon Cardenas and Erik Robles are set to clash on December 18 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The bout will be promoted by BoxingScene and ProxBox TV owner Garry Jonas, alongside Sampson Lewkowicz, with Cardenas competing for the first time since his impressive showing in defeat to pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue. Cardenas, 26-2 (14 KOs), was given next to no hope by anyone heading into the contest, but had the undisputed junior bantamweight champion down and on shaky legs in the second. Despite Cardenas’ early efforts, Inoue eventually proved too much, stopping Cardenas in Round 8. However, Cardenas walked out of the ring with his head held high, and his profile elevated from his showing.
The man in the opposing corner in Cardenas’ return will be the 16-3 (10 KOs) Robles. The hard hitting Mexican is no easy man to step in with after a stoppage defeat and seven months out the ring, but Jonas says there are no exceptions for those fighting on his platform.
“It’s an ideal comeback fight for Ramon,” said Jonas. “We don’t give tune-up fights, so it’s no walk in the park either. Ramon is a super entertaining fighter and a test like this will keep him ready. It will be a typical ProBoxTV high-action fight while it lasts.”
Ahead of the bout with Robles, Cardenas has made the decision to link up with experienced trainer Manny Robles in Los Angeles.
“Training is going great,” said Cardenas. “I’m training with Manny Robles in LA and he’s a great match for me. We are fixing mistakes I’ve been making in the past, patching them up. I don’t really like watching tape of my opponents, so I don’t know much, but he has to adjust to me like I have to adjust to him. I’ve always said you can fight the same guy 100 times and every time will be different anyway. People are expecting me to do good now, so I have a responsibility to show the fans that my fight with Inoue wasn’t a ‘one hit wonder.’”
Although Cardenas’ opponent Robles was impressed with his showing against Inoue, the Mexican believes he also is something to worry about.
“We know Cardenas is an elite fighter with excellent technique and tremendous power,” said Robles. “We all saw his performance against Inoue, and that's keeping us on high alert to continue preparing for what's coming on December 18. It's a fight where anything can happen. He's a dangerous fighter, and so am I. The difference between us is that I have nothing to lose.”
2016 Olympic Gold Medalist and former world title challenger Hebert Conceicao, 9-0 (5 KOs) will face Elias Espadas, 23-7-1 (16 KOs), on the undercard, with Jonas believing it could be a tough night for Conceicao.
“I think the world of Hebert [Conceicao],” said Jonas. “Check him out. And Espadas is no slouch. Earlier this year, Sadriddin Akhmedov was considered a hot, undefeated prospect and Espadas fought him to a draw, right in his home state. This fight will let us all take a good look at the gold medalist and see what he really has in the pros. Hebert is fun to watch and we have him on the fast track. If he wins this fight, he will have a big year ahead of him.”
Tickets to attend ProBoxTV’s The Contender Series in person at the War Memorial Auditorium start at $105 and are available from the ProBoxTV website or directly from Seat Geek. The fight will also be broadcast live and free on the ProBox TV YouTube Channel.
