The undisputed super-bantamweight champion boasts a 29-0, with 26 of those wins coming inside the distance, and he has spent the past four years thrilling his home fans in Japan with a string of typically brutal displays.
Inoue now returns to American soil for the first time since 2021 to make the latest defence of his full set of belts at 122lbs.
Kim Ye-joon was stopped in four rounds in January, and before that it was the likes of TJ Doheny, Luis Nery and Marlon Tapales being swept aside.
Mexico’s WBC mandatory Alan Picasso had been set to get his shot at Inoue for this bout in Las Vegas, but injury forced him to withdraw and it is instead Cardenas who gets his shot.
The 29-year-old American is 26-1 as a professional, with the sole defeat coming on points to Danny Flores in 2017. Since then there have been 14 straight wins, but this is a huge step up from anyone Cardenas has previously faced.
Briton’s Nick Ball and former super-bantamweight world champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev are among those who could be next to face Inoue if the Japanese superstar delivers as expected on Sunday night.
How to watch Inoue vs Cardenas
TV channel: In the UK, the event is being shown live on Sky Sports. Coverage begins at 1am BST on Monday morning, with the main event likely to take place at around 4am.
