Watch Naoya Inoue overcome knockdown, stop Ramon Cardenas in eighth round

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Naoye Inoue remains the undisputed super bantamweight champion, but he had to fight through adversity to retain his titles.

On Sunday, Inoue defended his undisputed status against Ramon Cardenas, who nearly pulled off a massive upset. In the second round, Cardenas floored Inoue with a perfectly timed left hook, sending "The Monster" to the canvas for only the second time in his professional career.

Inoue beat the count, and the round ended moments after the restart, allowing the champion to recompose himself in the corner. From there, Inoue came roaring back, taking over the fight with his jab and body work. Cardenas fought on valiantly, delaying the end for as long as he could, but in the seventh round, Inoue dropped him in the corner, and then in the eighth round, Inoue's barrage of offense finally forced the referee to call the fight.

Inoue is widely considered one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, and the win improved his professional record to 30-0 with 27 stoppages.