SOUTH GATE, California – With names like Canelo Alvarez and Naoya Inoue and one of the sport’s top prizes possibly looming, the ramifications of the August 29 ProBoxTV main card that counts Lester Martinez, Najee Lopez and Ramon Cardenas on it are immense.

– By defeating fellow ranked 168lbs opponent Luka Plantic at Los Angeles’ Galen Center, Guatemala’s WBC interim super-middleweight champion Martinez, 20-0-1 (16 KOs), can put himself in prime position for a showdown versus the winner of new WBC champion Christian Mbilli’s first title defense on October 31, versus four-division champion Alvarez.

– Should Texas’ Cardenas, 27-2 (15 KOs), defeat Colombia’s Leonardo Carrillo, 20-1-1 (9 KOs), in their super-bantamweight scrap, Cardenas holds an ideal position as No. 2 WBC and WBA fighter to keep alive his bid for a rematch with Inoue after knocking down the undisputed champion in an all-action bout last year.

– And after winning a fight-of-the-year battle versus Manuel Gallegos in March, Georgia’s Lopez, 16-0 (13 KOs), returns to the fire of unbeaten Colombian power puncher Juan Carrillo, 15-0 (11 KOs), in a co-main event expected to be a repeat firefight for the WBA’s No. 4-ranked light-heavyweight.

In the midst of training camp under Manny Robles last week just outside Los Angeles, Cardenas sized up the card and its mighty repercussions.

“It’s the ProBox recipe of building a fighter: They want fighters who are not scared of anybody,” Cardenas said. “That’s what we’re in the sport for: to fight anybody. We’re going to see who’s the stronger, tougher guy. ProBox is building its [brand] well, to put up tests and more tests, and if he wins, you keep graduating.”

Things are most consequential for Martinez, the 30-year-old cornered by former trainer of the year Brian “BoMac” McIntyre and aided in training by the now-retired September conqueror of Alvarez, unbeaten, five-division champion Terence Crawford.

Although the WBC has previously failed to force some of its champions, notably Alvarez, from fighting the interim titlist, Martinez would be certainly qualified for the full title shot by defeating Plantic, 13-0 (10 KOs), after fighting Mbilli to a highly entertaining draw on the Alvarez-Crawford main card.

Cardenas said fighting during the weekend of a huge Guatemalan festival in Los Angeles after last year’s stadium card and then a packed house for a March victory confirms Marttinez’s rising popularity.

He “just needs to be Lester Martinez … I’ve seen him fight a couple times. He’s a bad dude,” Cardenas said. “A fight with him and Canelo would be fireworks, 100 percent.

“His [September] fight with Mbilli was good. Now just imagine him with Canelo. Two fighters who’ll go toe to toe. Lester just needs to be Lester.” 

While there’s been speculation Mexico’s Alvarez 63-3-2 will avoid Martinez as he did current cruiserweight-light-heavyweight champion David Benavidez, Cardenas said he’s hopeful that would not happen should both win their next bouts.

“It’s hard to say because the Canelo I grew up watching fought everybody – Golovkin, [Miguel] Cotto, [Floyd] Mayweather, [Erislandy] Lara.Everybody who was anybody.

“Lester’s a somebody now, so why not? Ultimately, not to be disrespectful, but it’s not like [Alvarez] is undefeated. He’s lost. That’s the whole point of it. He’s lost along the way. He’s taken those challenges and risks, so why not take another with Lester Martinez?” 

The act of returning to another rugged bout by Lopez in the co-main event is a revelation of the Puerto Rican’s fighting character, Cardenas said. 

Lopez already displayed his heart by rising from a seventh-round knockdown to stop Gallegos in the eighth round of ProBoxTV’s March 13 main event in Florida.

“It says a lot. Now, [Lopez] is going to be in line for a title shot by winning this fight,” Cardenas said. “Lots of character, for sure.”

Cardenas knows the same exists within Japan’s unbeaten four-division champion Inoue, who arose from a second-round knockdown at the hands of Cardenas last year and stopped him in the eighth round at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“As a competitor, I want to fight him again because I know there were a lot of things in the first fight that went wrong for me, in the sense there were a lot of things I know I can do better,” Cardenas said of Inoue.

For now, Cardenas said he had no choice to remain busy with the fight against Carrillo as Inoue weighs whether to pursue a fight against three-division champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez or move to featherweight, where champions Rafael Espinoza, Brandon Figueroa, Angelo Leo and Bruce “ShuShu” Carrington reside.

”In all reality, I’m blessed to be in this position,” Cardenas said. “When I was younger, I was crying to be in this position and now that I’m here, I’m just waiting.

“Inoue deserves to do whatever he wants. He earned his spot, and now it’s like a Floyd Mayweather position where Floyd would fight whoever he wants, and if you got to fight him, you hit the jackpot. It’s the same thing now. And I know [if] he makes his move – to move up a division to featherweight – I’ll be right there.”

Cardenas said he’s most hopeful Inoue remains at 122lbs.

“As a fan, I would like to see him move up to featherweight and test himself there. There’s some heavy hitters in the featherweight division – Espinoza, Figueroa, Leo,” Cardenas said. “As a competitor, give me another shot. I’m willing to go to the Tokyo Dome. That’s honestly what I would want.”

Cardenas could be strongly positioned to next meet top-ranked WBC contender Junto Nakatani of Japan after Inoue defeated him earlier this year. Cardenas and Nakatani have previously sparred together.

“We’re in the sport to fight the best. No ill will, [we’d fight] just because we’re competitors,” Cardenas said.”He’s one of the best. I would love to fight him.”

Another remarkable scenario could exist if Rodriguez, who also hails from San Antonio, Texas, with Cardenas, defeats Inoue. Cardenas has known Rodriguez since “Bam” was a 10-year-old.

“If [Rodriguez is] the champion, and that’s the guy we’ve got to take on, it is what it is,” Cardenas said. “I personally wouldn’t want to because I’ve known him [so long], and I’ve always said, ‘There’s so many other people we can fight.’ I want the belt, though.”

And Cardenas agreed the bout would sell out San Antonio’s Alamodome.

“If he were to win, let’s do it,” Cardenas said. “If the money and everything makes sense, I would talk to him: ‘You’re a champion. I want to be a champion. Let’s do what we gotta do.’”