NEW YORK – The assignment of Naoya Inoue to close a full weekend of Cinco de Mayo boxing is the stuff of dreams for Ramon Cardenas, but that doesn’t mean he’s living in dreamland.

“He’s 29-0 with 26 KOs. Everyone knows he hits hard. His record speaks for itself,” Cardenas, 26-1 (14 KOs), said recently of the four-division and undisputed super-bantamweight champion from Japan, who’ll meet Texas’ Cardenas Sunday night on ESPN at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

“I’m expecting the best Inoue. He hasn’t come to the U.S. in four years. I expect him to come out and give his best. I’m a fighter, brother, just like he’s a fighter. I give him his credit, but we’re going to get in the ring and fight, and ultimately that’s where the cards are going to land. It’s boxing. You’re going to get hit. I’m going into the fight knowing he is who he is. I’ve got to be prepared for anything and everything that may happen in there.”

The WBA’s top-ranked 122lbs contender, Cardenas, 29, is coming off a February 8 unanimous decision over Bryan Acosta on ProBox TV.

He was driving to Wingstop later that month when his manager, Michael Miller, called to gauge his interest in an Inoue fight as Mexico’s David Alan Picasso withdrew from negotiations.

“Yeah, of course. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to fight the best. That’s one thing I’ve been asking for,” Cardenas answered.

“Ok, May 4,” Miller responded.

“You’re serious? OK, let’s do it,” said Cardenas.

Interestingly, Cardenas is trained by Joel Diaz, the Indio, California-based cornerman who will also lead Cardenas’ stablemate and former unified 122lbs champion Murodjon “M.J.” Akhmadaliev to a planned September 14 bout against Inoue in Tokyo (as long as Inoue defeats near 15/1 underdog Cardenas).

Diaz said he’ll leave the what-if scenario of a Cardenas victory to the managers and promoters regarding if he’ll fight Akhmadaliev. In the meantime, Diaz said he has to be fully focused on the first of his two cracks at Inoue.

 “Cardenas is probably like Canelo Alvarez in that he can knock you out in the first round, and he can knock you out in the last round,” Diaz said. “He has a lot of power. He has no control over it. I tell him in the gym, ‘Hey, Ramon, you don’t have to use so much force. Every punch you throw, you want to kill somebody. Relax. Let’s use volume.’ But he still wants to knock you out with every punch he throws. We’ve elevated volume, and increased his power.”

Cardenas feels he has more than a puncher’s chance, as pundits have categorized him.

“The way I see it is people will say anything and more than half of those saying something have never been in a ring – the Instagram and YouTube boxing experts – I’m here to do my job, here to try to win the fight,” Cardenas said. “The way I see it is he has two arms and two legs like me, and I have a chance.

“I’m excited for the event. Growing up in boxing, I remember Floyd Mayweather filling up arenas on May 5 weekend, fighting Pacquiao, Cotto, Canelo and De La Hoya, and I always told myself I want to be a part of that. Now that I’m here, now that it’s happened, I need to take advantage of the opportunity I’ve been given.

“I’ve been a big believer in destiny, and my destiny is here. I believe you’re given a story before you’re born. This is my story, and I’m taking it.”

Diaz is similarly maintaining an eyes-wide-open approach to Inoue, respecting “The Monster” for his destructive tactics, menacing punching power and superb techniques.

“I’ve been an underdog in about 80 percent of my fights. I love it. The outcomes have always been satisfying. You enjoy it more when you’re an underdog and nobody gives you a chance,” Diaz said.

“We train different. In the desert, we put a lot of time and effort into the fighters. We make them bleed. We are monsters, too, in our way. I know Inoue is ‘The Monster,’ but back in the desert, it’s really, really hot and we send them into the ring for sparring – three guys, back-to-back-to-back. When you’re at 120 degrees, only monsters can do that.”

Diaz expects Cardenas to have a strong cheating section on the Mexico holiday weekend.

“This is a great fight with a strong Mexican kid in Ramon who has a great mentality. Power in both hands. This kid hits really, really hard at 122lbs,” Diaz said. “In the first exchange, if they both get hit, somebody’s going down. Either one. They’re both powerful. I can tell you this: Once ‘The Monster’ feels the power that Ramon carries, his plan is not going to be the same. He’s going to have to make some changes.” 

San Antonio’s Cardenas said the only thing he’s envisioned is “them picking my hand up, and me winning. It’s about me accomplishing my dreams. If an upset happens, I accomplish my dreams and can go off into the sunset and be happy.”

Diaz has taken on legends before, including the night he cornered Timothy Bradley Jnr to a controversial upset on the scorecards over Manny Pacquiao.

“Fighters around the world are great, but in order for you to know them, they have to get the opportunity,” Diaz said.

“Ramon is being given the opportunity now and he has to show what he’s made of. If he wants to be considered one of the greatest, he has to overcome this obstacle of Inoue, because he is the undisputed champion and the best.

“Cardenas comes from a different environment. He’s hungry and has no intimidation. He looks forward to it. You can tell when you talk to him he has that little anger in him, and that’s what I like in a fighter. If the fighter has intimidation … you’re not going to see that from Ramon. He’s going to say, ‘I’m ready for this. I’m looking forward to it.’ Once he walks in the ring, he’s going to give the best of himself because he wants to be in the position Inoue is in right now.”

Wednesday, Akhmadaliev promoter Eddie Hearn and manager Vadim Kornilov announced they had finalized the deal for their WBA interim champion to meet Inoue September 14 in Tokyo.

“I’m a lucky coach. I’ve got two opportunities. But I want it to [create] a tough situation, with Ramon winning,” Diaz said. “We’ve put in some hard work, and whenever you guys see me coming to an event, you’re going to get the best in boxing. I don’t train fighters to lose. We put up the best fights.”