Naoya Inoue: Can He Bring The Excitement Tonight After Two Dull PPV Days?

Two big and heavily hyped shows: one in Times Square, New York, the other in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Together, the two cards made some punch-stat history, but not the kind anyone wanted, or would ever want. On Friday night, the card topped by Rolly Romero Vs. Ryan Garcia managed to pull in some of the lowest numbers of punches ever landed in a fight since the introduction of CompuBox (this in 1985).

The Romero-Garcia fight ranks #4 on the lowest ever connects percentage list, while Friday night’s co-main, between Devin Haney and Jose Ramirez – this fight a real snoozer if ever there was one – ranks at #6. In addition, though it proved to be the fight of the night on Friday, the Teofimo Lopez-Arnold Barboza fight, won over 12 by Teo, was also lacking in action.

So, going into last night’s second big card of the weekend, fans hoped Canelo Alvarez would give them something to cheer about in his fight with William Scull. Instead, the four-belt super middleweight title fight proved to be another, even more spectacular failure as far as punches landed.

The Canelo-Scull fight – won widely on the cards by Canelo – ranks at the very top of the list as far as punches thrown over the course of a 12-round fight. That’s no nice distinction. Added to this, the three supporting bouts also went the distance, this making it a dull night for lovers of a knockout. The Efe Ajabga-Martin Bakole fight went the distance, as did the Jaime Munguia-Bruno Surace rematch, along with the Badou Jack-Norair Mikaeljan fight.

At this point, what was expected to be a huge, and a hugely exciting, trio of boxing cards spread across the weekend has resulted in some frustrating time for fight fans; fans who paid quite a bit of money to see the two shows on P-P-V.

Now, it’s up to “The Monster” to save the show, to save the weekend. Tonight in Las Vegas, Naoya Inoue will meet Ramon Cardenas in his return to the US. This fight, SURELY, will not be dull. Inoue will get the KO, too, right? Who knows, maybe there’s something in the air; a ‘KO drought’ of some kind?

If Inoue did have to go the distance in order to retain his four super bantamweight belts, it would mark just fourth time in the Japanese superstar’s that he has gone the distance in a fight. But it could happen. As for the upset, with Cardenas pulling off the shocker…….

Who would have thought the Romero-Garcia fight would have gone the distance? Shouldn’t Canelo have been able to get rid of Scull, as reluctant to engage as the Cuban was? How on earth did the Ajagba-Bakole fight go the limit?

Those dreary punch-stats in full:

Canelo, 56 punches landed. Scull, 55 punches landed.

Romero, 57 punches landed. Garcia, 66 punches landed.

Haney, 70 punches landed. Ramirez, 30 punches landed.

Ugh.

Again, it’s over to you, Naoya Inoue and Ramon Cardenas, to give us fans what we want: action!