Cardenas will have to settle for watching the captivating clash featuring two of the best fighters in the world – two warriors he knows far too well – from the comforts of home in San Antonio, Texas. DAZN, which will stream the Inoue-Nakatani event worldwide from a sold-out Tokyo Dome, will begin its undercard coverage at 5:40 a.m. ET in the U.S. and 10:40 a.m. BST in the UK.

Almost a year ago to the day, Cardenas captivated combat sports fans with a resilient performance in a “Fight of the Year” contender against Inoue. He dropped the Japanese knockout artist with a crushing counter in the second round and gave a solid account of himself before losing steam and getting stopped in the eighth round.

Cardenas (27-2, 15 KOs) – The Ring’s No. 5-rated 122-pound contender – returned December 18 and brutally blasted Erik Robles Ayala in the fifth round. To get in top shape for that fight, he was in camp with Nakatani and served as his chief sparring partner in Los Angeles as Nakatani prepared for his bout against Sebastian Hernandez a week later in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Having sparred 99 rounds against Nakatani, Cardenas envisions Inoue-Nakatani being a back-and-forth, tit-for-tat tilt that can present 99 problems for both participants.

“Sparring Junto is one thing, fighting in a real fight and throwing everything against Inoue is another,” Cardenas told The Ring. “It’s one of those fights where you don’t really know exactly what’s gonna happen. I’ve been blessed enough to be in the ring with both. I know that Junto and I sparred exactly 99 rounds because everything was documented.

“I would say we were sparring at about 50 percent of our abilities. We were just working on our craft and skills. We weren’t trying to kill each other, but I did try to push him and make it rough and tough on him. I wanted to help him because I kind of knew that Hernandez would give Junto some problems, and as we saw, it ended up being a great fight.”

Just like Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) had a tougher-than-expected fight against Cardenas, Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) experienced the same against Hernandez. He eventually outlasted the gritty Mexican contender and won a 12-round unanimous decision.

After surviving the scare against Cardenas, Inoue has scored unanimous decision wins against Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Alan Picasso. He will defend his Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles against Nakatani.

“Junto is a tremendous fighter who always stays calm and composed in the ring,” Cardenas said. “There aren’t a lot of fighters like that. When the going gets tough, Junto still sticks with the game plan, even if it may be difficult. For Junto to win this fight, he needs to use his reach to do what he wants that night.

“He can’t let Inoue control the pace. And with Junto’s length, it could be hard to get into range. Junto is very good at using his range. When I fought Inoue, I said going in that I had to be perfect for 36 minutes. But for Junto, I feel that it could be a 50-50 fight.”

Cardenas nearly accomplished the improbable when he viciously knocked down Inoue with a counter left hook at the end of the second round. Inoue got up, and the bell saved him from eating another shot. Cardenas kept mounting pressure in the following rounds before Inoue recuperated and rallied for a resilient victory.

“Inoue knows how to control pace and range and do the little things really well,” Cardenas said. “He has great timing, he adjusts and knows when to push on the gas pedal, and when to back off. It’s not just one-punch power that is the problem when you’re facing Inoue; it’s the accumulation of the punches that catch up. It’s going to be difficult for Junto to drop Inoue with the overhand left the same way Luis Nery and I did because Inoue is expecting it, one hundred percent.

“You can tell that Inoue has worked on neutralizing the left hand connecting on him ever since fighting me. I’ll bet you anything they are constantly drilling to keep the right hand tucked to the chin to not let the left hand get through. Whoever makes the first big mistake is going to pay. I don’t know if it will be a knockout or not in this fight, on either side, because they both know how to adjust. If Hernandez couldn’t knock out Junto, I don’t think Inoue can necessarily do it either. I see both guys imposing their dominance.”

As Cardenas got close to giving an actual prediction, he caught himself and kept his cards close to his chest, especially because he has tremendous respect for both fighters and wants to eventually put himself in a position to fight them.

“I want to avoid saying who’s the better fighter or who will win, because it’s damned if I do, damned if I don’t, no matter what I have to say,” Cardenas said. “I’ll keep who I actually think will win to myself. The best answer I can give is that boxing will win. This is the kind of fight that boxing needs – the top guys, the best fighting the best. Other people should take note. It’s not about being undefeated; that’s bogus.

“They deserve all the credit in the world for fighting each other in their primes, because they could have also easily avoided each other. But these two Japanese warriors are setting the example, and everyone loves you for that.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.