Ramon Cardenas out to prove his level is elite
Dec 17, 2025 • 12:00 PM ET
Photo: Mikey Williams / Top RankIt’s a rare occurrence when a boxing loss builds a fighter’s profile, but that’s precisely what has happened with super-bantamweight contender Ramon Cardenas.
Seven months after replacement-foe Cardenas knocked down undisputed champion Naoya Inoue in the second round of a gripping Cinco de Mayo weekend bout that Inoue ultimately won by eighth-round stoppage, Cardenas is back.
Placed atop Thursday night’s ProBoxTV card in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Texas’ Cardenas 26-2 (14KOs) returns versus Mexico’s Erik Robles Ayala 16-3 (10KOs) at War Memorial Auditorium.
The card can be seen on ProBoxTV’s YouTube channel.
Cardenas’ assistant trainer Ronnie Cantu told BoxingScene Tuesday that Cardenas – ranked second by the WBA and fifth by the WBC – has prepared to prove “he knows he’s on another level.”
During this camp, Cardenas has sparred with unbeaten three-division champion Junto Nakatani 31-0 (24 KOs) while preparing under new trainer Manny Robles.
The intention with Thursday’s bout is to “go and show the level he’s on,” Cantu said.
“Ramon doesn’t need to call out anyone.”
Following some camp talk after the Inoue performance that Cardenas had the ability to shift from super-bantamweight down to 118lbs, Cantu said that’s no longer the case.
With Inoue meeting second-ranked WBC contender David Alan Picasso December 27 in Saudi Arabia while Nakatani makes his 122lbs debut against Sebastian Reyes, the expected winners from Japan are headed to a Tokyo Dome showdown in the spring.
With the Inoue performance behind him along with the Nakatani sparring sessions, Cardenas is content to affirm his position as the most qualified challenger for whomever emerges from the expected Inoue-Nakatani mega-fight.
“He has lots of familiarity with both of them now,” Cantu said.
WEIGHTS FROM FORT LAUDERDALE
10 rounds, junior-featherweight
Ramon Cardenas 124lbs, Erik Ayala 123.6lbs
10 rounds, middleweight
Hebert Conceicao Sousa 160.4 lbs, Elias Espadas 160.2lbs
8 rounds, middleweight
Joeshon James 163.4, Yojanier Martinez 165.4
10 rounds, super-lightweight
Mykquan Williams 141.6lbs, George Pardo 145lbs
8 rounds, super-welterweight
Bryan Polaco, 153.2lbs, Marlon Harrington 153.2lbs
4 rounds, junior-featherweight
Kenyan Valle, 123.6lbs, Taran Ward 128lbs
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
