Ramon Cardenas, one of boxing’s top super bantamweight contenders, nearly saw his plans for a major title shot go up in smoke Saturday night in Los Angeles. He scraped by with a split decision victory over Leonardo Carrillo, posting scores of 98-92, 93-97, and 96-94. That 93-97 scorecard for Carrillo? That’s the one that made everyone in the arena hold their breath. It almost led to an insane upset for the 33-year-old Panamanian, a shocker nobody expected given Cardenas’s No. 2 ranking in the world by both the WBA and WBC.
A Win That Felt Too Close For Comfort
Seriously, that fight was wild. Cardenas himself admitted he was surprised by how close it was, saying “Yeah, that was crazy, right? I don’t know what (that third judge) was seeing.” It was a slow, deliberate pace for much of the 10 rounds, with Cardenas initially appearing to stay a step ahead. But as the fight wore on, it was clear this wasn’t the dominant performance everyone expected. Carrillo, despite never showing much urgency, brought serious toughness and a strong chin. He displayed enough skill to keep Cardenas from ever truly taking over. ProBoxTV analyst Paulie Malignaggi summed it up, saying no one “could make a case for Carrillo winning” the fight, and sometimes you “just have to win and move on.” The punch stats tell a story though: Cardenas landed 148 of 623 punches, while Carrillo landed 72 of 335. Cardenas did throw a career high 623 punches, showing he was working, but the crowd’s biggest reaction was an audible gasp when Cardenas missed a looping right in the ninth.
What’s Next for the Super Bantamweight Contender?
This fight was supposed to be Cardenas’s audition for a huge match against Junto Nakatani, a former bantamweight champion and recent challenger to Naoya Inoue. Cardenas has been on a tear, winning 15 of his last 16 fights, even flooring “The Monster” Naoya Inoue just over a year ago in Tokyo before losing by TKO. That knockdown absolutely elevated his status worldwide, putting him in this current position as a top contender. But Saturday’s performance? Cardenas himself said Carrillo “came to fight but he didn’t come to win. He just wanted to survive.” While Cardenas did increase his output mid-fight, attacking the body as his corner urged, it never felt like a resounding victory. He survived, but it definitely didn’t add “considerable momentum” to his goal of facing Nakatani. Cardenas is still in line, but that Nakatani fight just got a little tougher to lock down with this kind of scare.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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