LAS VEGAS – Nonito Donaire has cautioned Naoya Inoue against moving up to featherweight after watching him get knocked down by Ramon Cardenas. 

The 32-year-old Inoue produced a thrilling performance, recovering from a second-round knockdown to stop Cardenas in the eighth on Sunday at the T-Mobile Arena, and therefore successfully defending his undisputed junior featherweight championship.

He is scheduled to next fight Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev on September 14, again at 122lbs. But after weighing in to fight Cardenas, Inoue confirmed he expects to one day move up once again – his co-promoter Bob Arum had by then already speculated about him doing so in 2026.

Donaire, who at that same weigh-in spoke of wanting to see Inoue tested at 126lbs, then saw him also potentially be too focused on his power throughout against Cardenas, and questioned the wisdom of Inoue making such a move.

The 29-year-old Cardenas provided Inoue with his toughest test since Donaire at 118lbs in 2019, and the Filipino, having also been “impressed” by the 6ft 1ins featherweight Rafael Espinoza’s victory over Edward Vazquez, told BoxingScene: “I would hold off on that. Still he would be competitive, at 126, but it’d be more difficult. He got dropped by a guy at 122 – granted, Cardenas is a puncher as well. But the bigger guys, the rougher guys – it might be a tough fight for him. 

“Will his power be as noticeable at a higher division? He hit Cardenas straight, and Cardenas took some shots in there, and eventually he succumbed to his power. But ultimately, the bigger guys are gonna be able to take shots even better.

“If he fought the way he did against a smart fighter, he might be a step behind. All he focused on was his power, like I did in the past – it was all power. Sometimes the defense might lapse and you might get caught with something big, right? But it’s just an adjustment in the gym – that’s all there is to it.

“It was a great fight. Out of all the other fights we’ve seen this whole week, that was an incredible fight. You’ve got a guy who’s willing to fight, even though he’s fighting someone who everyone’s afraid of.

“He got a guy who was willing to stay there and take shots and give some shots. It was very exciting, thinking of other fights he’s been in when he’s kind of dominated the whole time. This was good for him.

“Aside from his power – he’s always been impressive with his power – he got up [from a knockdown]. I fought the guy, and he took my punches, but he didn’t panic at all; the way he just moved on to the next round and adjusted, that was good.

“Cardenas impressed me with his power. Usually you say, ‘He’s a strong fighter’, but when they get in there they just have heavy hands. Cardenas had some power in there; he had heavy hands, but it was very dangerous punches. He just didn’t time it properly – Inoue was either too far or he was waiting to throw something big. Aside from that, his power was visible.

“I was [also] very, very impressed with Espinoza. Espinoza’s an incredible fighter – the way he fought was very impressive.”

Cardenas’ co-promoter Sampson Lewkowicz has since suggested that Inoue should no longer fight Akhmadaliev in September, and should instead recover from so physical a contest.

If since his clinical victory over Stephen Fulton Jnr in 2023 Inoue has competed with Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk for the status of the world’s finest active fighter, his performance against Cardenas perhaps also provided a reminder that, of the three, he is the most flawed.

“I’ve always put him behind Crawford and Usyk, because the level of opposition is just not the same,” Donaire continued. “Yes, Fulton; myself; [Luis] Nery; we’re good fighters. But it’s not like Usyk has done, where he took over the division by beating the best in the division and moved up again. 

“The level of competition is not the same, but in his case, he did beat everybody in the division, so it’s how people look at the people he’s fought. But considering Usyk’s resume, and ‘Bud’s’ resume, he’s definitely there, but I don’t think it surpasses them.

“He should go for it [against Akhmadaliev in September]. He fought well. He got caught with something like anybody else can get caught with something. But that’s a good fight for him. It shouldn’t diminish or take away anything from him performing at his best against ‘MJ.’”