Naoya Inoue’s next two fights are set.

The Ring has learned that Inoue’s co-promoters, Hideyuki Ohashi and Bob Arum, finalized agreements Thursday for the Japanese superstar to defend his Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 122-pound championships against Ramon Cardenas and Murodjon Akhmadaliev during a four-month span in the spring and summer. If Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) defeats San Antonio’s Cardenas on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he will advance to another championship clash with Uzbekistan’s Akhmadaliev on September 14 at a venue to be announced in Tokyo.

Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs) is the WBA’s No. 2, The Ring’s No. 9 and WBO’s No. 10 contender in the 122-pound division, but he is not ranked in the top 15 by the IBF or WBC. Akhmadaliev (13-1, 10 KOs) is the WBA’s interim super bantamweight champion and is ranked No. 2 among The Ring’s junior featherweight contenders.

Akhmadaliev’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and manager, Vadim Kornilov, agreed with Ohashi Promotions and Arum’s Top Rank Inc. on a step-aside fee and an accompanying purse for Inoue to defend his titles against Akhmadaliev if the four-division champion beats Cardenas. The WBA could’ve stripped Inoue of its 122-pound crown had his team not reached an agreement to face Akhmadaliev if Inoue were to defeat Cardenas.

Akhmadaliev and his handlers have long contended that Inoue is avoiding him. “The Monster” has scoffed at Akhmadaliev’s claims because Inoue knocked out Filipino southpaw Marlon Tapales (39-4, 20 KOs) in the 10th round of the fight after Tapales upset Akhmadaliev by split decision in April 2023.

Inoue, 31, is ranked No. 2 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. If Inoue continues to win, he has agreed to make his Riyadh Season debut sometime in December against an opponent to be determined in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Top Rank and ESPN partnered to air this rare Sunday night tripleheader that will feature Inoue-Cardenas because the following Monday is Cinco de Mayo and the last day of Golden Week in Japan, a period of public holidays. The card headlined by Inoue and Cardenas figures to attract thousands of Japanese and Mexican fans from outside of Las Vegas to the home arena of the NHL’s Golden Knights.

The Sunday show will also enable Top Rank to avoid competing with a pay-per-view event the previous night, May 3, which will showcase Saul “Canelo” Alvarez against William Scull in a 12-round fight for Alvarez’s Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles and Scull’s IBF belt. Mexico’s Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and Cuba’s Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) will square off at ANB Arena in Riyadh in a main event that will be officially announced Thursday at a press conference in New York.

Cardenas, 29, will be a huge underdog against Inoue. He has won 14 fights in a row since Danny Flores (then 14-9-1) upset him by majority decision in a 10-rounder in April 2017 in Monterrey, Mexico.

The left-handed Akhmadaliev, 30, most recently stopped Mexico’s Ricardo Espinoza (30-5, 25 KOs) in the third round December 14 in Monte Carlo.