This entire week must be feeling like a mini vacation for boxing fanatics. First, there was the Ryan Garcia-Rolando Romero event, then the Canelo Alvarez-William Scull bout. Just minutes from now, another major event is waiting to be viewed at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Naoya Inoue, the undisputed light featherweight champ, fights the 26-1 boxer, Ramon Cardenas.

Broadcasting on ESPN+ in the U.S. and Sky Sports Action in the U.K., the undercard has 6 more fights to build the mood. Ranging from 6-12 rounds, it is going to be a complete showdown across 6 different weight classes. While Dinamita and Edward Vazquez would be fighting for world titles, the other boxers would be there to boost their careers or make a living. Let’s talk about the latter.

Naoya Inoue vs. Ramon Cardenas purse and estimated salary

Though the Japanese is far better than Cardenas when it comes to boxing skills, the former is still risking his perfect record, while his opponent, grabbing the opportunity for a mandatory title shot, will have the chance to grab all four divisional belts if he wins. So, the stakes are high. But The Monster is already a -10,000 betting odds fan favorite, with the 29-year-old being a +1700 underdog.

Boxing aficionados already know that it’s not going to be a very long bout. Despite that, they want to see it happening, and the fight purse is unfortunately not made public yet. Still, it is possible to take an educated guess based on the past purses of both. For Naoya Inoue, if we consider a modest increase over previous fights, he could earn between $7.5 million and $8 million, as per SportsKeeda.

That’s because when he fought Kim Ye-joon in January this year, his purse share was reportedly $7 million. If the pay-per-view revenue is also included, his total earnings have even reached $8 million when he fought Stephen Fulton in 2023. For Cardenas, on the other hand, $500k to $1 million could make this the biggest payday of his career, because he is less recognized at the moment.

Apart from the Naoya Inoue-Ramon Cardenas clash, there are also other bouts in the event. And the PPV revenue would be divided amongst them.

How much will Rafael Espinoza, Rohan Polanco, and others earn?

Part of the Cinco de Mayo weekend, there are in total 8 fights happening in this Las Vegas event, with Rafael Espinoza set up against Edward Vazquez for the former’s WBO featherweight title. In another 10-round bout, Rohan Polanco would be fighting Fabian Maidana at welterweight. Their fight purses for today too aren’t revealed so only an informed guess can be made from past fights.

According to Sporty Salaries, El Divino’s earnings had significantly increased within just a year. In 2023, when he fought Rafael Rosas Ramirez, he won via TKO in the 3rd round, earning a purse share of $75k. Later, he fought Ally Mwerangi and Robeisy Ramirez, making $100k and $250k, respectively, for the bouts.

By 2024, he’d already reached $425k when he fought Robeisy Ramirez. As for Rohan Polanco, he is on a slightly lower end when it comes to earning through the sport. In 2022, he was making only $7k when he fought Dedrick Bell. Eventually, his fight purses did increase, but not quite largely.

Only last year, he made in the ranges of $20k and $25k, respectively, when he met Tarik Zaina and Luis Hernandez in the ring. This year, he’s reached the $50k mark after the Jean Carlos Torres fight. Then there is also Emiliano Vergas on the undercard, set to bump fists against Juan Leon, and he, too, is on the higher end of this range, with his bout against Larry Fryers last year bringing in $75k.

No doubt, the figures don’t sound as large as they did for the Canelo-Scull bout, or the Garcia-Romero matchoff, but let’s be honest, more than half of the boxers on this card are currently in their 20s. And others like Naoya Inoue are at their career prime in their 30s. So, naturally, in the coming years, their salaries may increase further. Until then, let us know which fight you’re most eager for.