Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue 27-0 (24) survived an early scare to retain his WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine titles with a sixth-round knockout of Luis ‘Pantera’ Nery 35-2 (27) at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.
Mexican southpaw Nery, 29, surprised Inoue with a left hand in the opening round, sending him to he canvas. Japan’s Inoue, 31, shook it off and returned the favour in the second frame.
The fight continued to be a shootout and by the fourth round it was obvious that Inoue was getting the better of the action. In the fifth Nery went down again, courtesy of a well-timed left hook. The writing was on the wall.
Inoue went for the kill in the sixth, trapping Nery on the ropes and landing a right uppercut followed by a right cross that almost send the challenger’s head into the third row. Nery crumpled to the canvas and referee Michael Griffin waved off the contest at the 1:22 mark.
The bout was as thrilling as it was brutal. Inoue, who was leading 48-44 on all three judges’ scorecards at the time, scored his eighth straight knockout dating back almost five years.
Inoue, who is trained by his father Shingo Inoue, said that the early knockdown he suffered served to wake him up.
“I don’t remember anything my dad told me in the intermission, but that [knockdown] happening gave me good motivation,” said Inoue. “I was so focused until the end of the fight.”
Compubox had Inoue landing 107 of 239 blows (44.8%) compared to 54 of 194 for Nery (27.8%).
“I appreciate Nery,” Inoue said. “That’s why I shook hands with him after the fight. The knockdown motivated me. I am thankful to have fought against a great fighter in Nery.”
Australia’s Sam Goodman 18-0 (8) climbed into the ring to congratulate Inoue and issue a challenge after the fight. The 25-year-old is the number one contender at 122-pounds with both the WBO and the IBF.
“I’ve been mandatory for over a year,” Goodman said. “Either give up the belts or fight me. Let’s get it on.”
In the main support bout southpaw Yoshiki Takei 9-0 (8) held off a hard finishing Jason Moloney 27-3 (19) to annex the WBO bantamweight title.
Former kickboxer Takei, 27, was docked a point in the second round for straying low, but it barely disrupted his game. The Japanese boxer stalked the 33-year-old Australian throughout the bout, who was facing just his second lefthander as a pro.
With the fight almost out of his grasp, Moloney delivered one last ditch effort in the 12th. He threw everything he had at Takei, wobbling him against the ropes but was unable to put the game challenger away.
At the final bell Takei was awarded the win by scores of 117-110 and 116-111 twice.
In other action WBA bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue 20-1 (5) retained his title with a unanimous decision win over veteran Sho Ishida 34-4 (17) by scores of 118-109 twice and 116-111.
The first world title bout of the night saw WBA flyweight champion Seigo Yuri Akui 20-2-1 (11) keep his belt with a points win over Taku Kuwahara 13-2 (8) in a rematch. The scores were 118-110 and 117-111, all for the champion.
