How do you beat Naoya Inoue?

As we gear up for this weekend’s 72-hour boxing feast, it’s possible the best is being saved for last.

On Sunday night in Las Vegas, Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) makes his grand return to the United States, defending his undisputed super bantamweight crown against challenger Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs) inside the T-Mobile Arena.

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The 32-year-old Inoue, Uncrowned's No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, owns an unblemished record as a professional. His 13 years in the paid ranks have accumulated world championships in four weight classes and his name has been rooted alongside Terence Crawford’s and Oleksandr Usyk’s as boxing's best for a number of years.

On the face of it, Japan's “Monster” looks and feels unbeatable.

Aided by his aforementioned moniker and a lack of spoken English, there is a mystique attached to Inoue. Like Mike Tyson in the 1980s, fighters feel beaten before they have traded leather with him, crippled by his aura.

Only David Carmona, Ryoichi Taguchi and Nonito Donaire have heard the final bell in an Inoue contest — the latter was subsequently stopped inside two rounds in a rematch.

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Former bantamweight world champion Jamie McDonnell found out about Inoue’s power the hard way. Debuting at the 118-pound limit in 2018, Inoue recorded his 16th win and captured the WBA’s (Regular) world title at bantamweight, blowing the Briton out in less than two minutes.

“He looked about 13,” McDonnell told Uncrowned, regaling his arrival in Tokyo, Japan. “I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t know much about [Inoue], but our kid [brother] did and his face dropped when I told him who I was fighting.

“It’s like he’s got rocks in his hands. He hits so f***ing hard. I wasn’t feeling comfortable at the weight in general, but even so, he was just able to flatten me. If he didn’t get the stoppage in that first round then I would have been pulled out at the end of the first anyway.

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“I’ve got no idea how you beat him. I don’t think anybody knows. I would have been fined £100,000 if I missed weight in that fight — I did a lot to make sure I made it, even having a colonic, but looking back I think it might have been worth it just to accept the fine to give me a fighting chance in the fight.”

Australia’s Jason Moloney put up a spirited and skilful effort in 2020, eventually succumbing to Inoue’s power in the seventh round. Inoue managed to drop the former bantamweight world champion twice before a perfectly-timed right hand ended the argument.

“A lucky punch is about your only chance of beating him,” Moloney said. “I don’t give many people a chance of beating him — he’s exceptional.

“What’s important is that Inoue really backs himself — he will take risks, which is what makes him so exciting to watch and so dangerous. He backs himself and his power, but when he attacks, he is there to be hit if you’re good enough. But who is? At the moment, I don’t give many fighters a chance. As he moves up and starts to face bigger and physically stronger guys, they may be able to have more success. But right now, I don’t see him losing.”

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A popular belief is that Inoue’s first loss will come courtesy of jumping up a weight class too many. He has won world honors at super strawweight, super flyweight, bantamweight and super bantamweight, becoming the first man to own all four recognised titles at the 122-pound limit.

Former featherweight world champion and super featherweight contender Leigh Wood agrees. The Nottingham fighter had some success against Inoue in sparring a few years ago — much to Inoue father, Shingo Inoue’s, delight. Wood sparred Naoya and brother Takuma Inoue on consecutive days in Japan, but was under the illusion that he was just in with the younger brother.

“They had the same gear on, same head guard and look pretty similar,” Wood said. “I had had some success against Takuma on the first day and, on the second day, we started the spar and I thought, ‘F*** me, he’s a lot sharper today!’

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“I caught him with a lovely one-two and rocked him on the back of his heels and his father was going crazy in the corner, cheering and clapping! I was very confused. But he bounced straight back at me and kept coming forward. It was a great spar, but I was shocked how much he had improved overnight. It wasn’t until later that day I realised I was actually in with Naoya that day … which made a lot more sense.”

Inoue’s 23rd professional victim, Paul Butler, agrees that a weight north of 126 pounds could spell trouble for "The Monster.” Butler struggled to get going in his 2022 loss to the Japanese superstar, staying out of trouble for a majority of the fight until getting caught and stopped in the 11th round inside Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.

“I think he can win a world title at featherweight, but that’ll be it,” Briton’s “Baby Faced Assassin” said. “The only way he loses is when he is completely outsized and overwhelmed by a fighter. But until then, I struggle to see how he is beaten.

“He’s been in with every style now and he’s beaten them all. He’s not just a puncher — he’s got everything in his locker. You have to match him in every department, push him back and make him respect your power. The closest we’ve seen to that is Nonito Donaire in their first fight.”

And the “Filipino Flash" learned plenty from the 14 rounds he shared with Inoue in 2019 and 2022. Donaire lost a competitive decision to Inoue in the final of the bantamweight division’s World Boxing Super Series before getting blitzed inside five minutes in their rematch.

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“You need to make it rough — like I did in the first fight,” he said. “I tried to press the fight with my defense and a high guard in an attempt to make him uncomfortable. It is possible to beat him. You’ve got to disturb his rhythm and understand his pauses and patterns.

“I think if you’ve got a solid defense and good counter-punching abilities then you have a good chance. But his power is undeniable. He owns that punch that you desperately try and avoid getting hit with — if you’re not focused, he’ll put you to sleep.”

Marlon Tapales moved to 37-4 following his defeat at the hands Inoue in December 2023 up at super bantamweight, touching the canvas in the fourth round before getting stopped under pressure in the 10th. Inoue put in a ruthless performance to add Tapales' IBF and WBA 122-pound belts to his WBO and WBC titles, but the Filipino sees tactical tweaks he could make if he is ever to sign a rematch.

“If we ran it back, I would have to increase my defensive movements — specifically with my head and feet,” Tapales said. “I watched the fight back and I was pretty stationary and easy to hit. Inoue is very hard to beat, but perhaps with defensive discipline, sharper counter-punching and a tight game plan it can be done.”

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Cardenas is the next man up on the Inoue conveyor belt this Sunday, and as seems the theme of the weekend, will be looking to blow up future plans of his adversary. (Naoya Inoue and Murodjon Akhmadaiev have used fight week to sign a lucrative super bantamweight unification fight in Tokyo, Japan, tentatively scheduled for this September.)

But as the first punches land inside the T-Mobile Arena, Cardenas may quickly realize that even having a successful evening against Inoue doesn’t necessarily mean winning.