Naoya Inoue boosts claim as world’s best boxer with destruction of Luis Nery | Boxing

Naoya Inoue bolstered his declare because the world’s finest pound-for-pound fighter on Monday when he got here off the ground to retain his undisputed junior featherweight championship with a technical knockout of Luis Nery.

A sold-out crowd of round 50,000 spectators on the Tokyo Dome was surprised into silence close to the tip of the opening spherical when a heavy left hook dumped Inoue to the canvas for the primary time in his 12-year skilled profession. However a hyper-focused Inoue, the unbeaten Japanese star often known as the Monster, returned the favor after which some. He knocked down his Mexican opponent within the second and fifth earlier than closing the present with a devastating proper hook within the sixth.

“I don’t bear in mind something my dad [head trainer Shingo Inoue] advised me within the intermission, however that [knockdown] occurring gave me good motivation,” stated Inoue, who improved to 27 wins in 27 paying fights with 24 coming by knockout. “I used to be so targeted till the tip of the battle.”

Lower than six months after making historical past by stopping Marlon Tapales to unify the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO world titles at 122lbs, the 31-year-old Inoue additional strengthened his pound-for-pound credentials in enhancing to 21-0 with 19 knockouts in world championship fights, punctuating the newest chapter in a harmful upward surge by way of boxing’s weight divisions not seen since Manny Pacquiao’s prime.

Nery (35-2, 27 KOs), a former two-division world champion who held the WBC’s model of the title at bantamweight and junior featherweight, went off as a 10-1 underdog earlier than a hostile crowd on Monday. However the Tijuana southpaw caught his reckless foe coming in with a flush left hand close to the tip of the primary spherical. Inoue appeared extra shocked than damage, taking a knee early within the rely and calmly making it to his ft at eight earlier than surviving Nery’s closing efforts and surviving till the bell.

The second spherical unfolded on even phrases for the primary two minutes till Inoue returned the favor with a pointy counter left hook to the within that dropped an overextended Nery to the deck. From that time Inoue gave the impression to be timing his opponent, whose lack of another plan led to problems within the third.

By the fourth, Inoue’s distinctive cocktail of energy, velocity and footwork was on full show as he pointed to his jaw and showboated within the middle of the ring. Nery’s face started to swell as Inoue peppered him with punches, trying to arrange the left hand to the midsection.

The top appeared close to in the course of the fifth when Nery dropped his guard simply lengthy sufficient for Inoue to detonate a left hand on his chin, placing the Mexican down for a second time. Nery was saved by the bell after beating the rely however proved much less lucky within the sixth, when a large proper dropped him for the third and remaining time, prompting a direct intervention from referee Michael Griffin.

Inoue landed 107 of 239 blows (44.8%), in accordance with Compubox’s punch statistics, in comparison with 54 of 194 for Nery (27.8%).

“I admire Nery,” Inoue stated by way of a translator. “That’s why I shook palms with him after the battle. The knockdown motivated me. I’m grateful to have fought towards an ideal fighter in Nery.”

It was the newest sensational end for the 5ft 5in knockout service provider from Kanagawa prefecture, who captured his first world title at 108lbs in solely his sixth skilled battle earlier than including one other belt at 115lbs, then turning into the undisputed champion at 118lbs and 122lbs over a 378-day span.

A card stacked with 4 world title fights marked boxing’s return to the Huge Egg for the primary time since February 1990, when a 42-1 underdog named James ‘Buster’ Douglas knocked out then-unbeaten heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in one of many nice upsets in all of sport.

Inoue is not any Tyson. He’s even higher, each on physique of labor and urge for food for destruction. He has fought 13 world champions and overwhelmed each considered one of them. At 31, he’s already one of many most interesting at any weight from any period: a real celebrity and the arguably the best present in sports activities in the present day.

Whether or not it was sufficient for Inoue to eclipse the undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford atop boxing’s pound-for-pound record is a matter of opinion. However that it’s turn into a two-horse race is past credible dispute.

Earlier than even departing the ring on Monday evening, Inoue recommended his subsequent battle might be in September towards the undefeated Australian Sam Goodman, the top-ranked junior featherweight contender by two of boxing’s 4 main sanctioning our bodies.

“I’ve been obligatory for over a yr,” Goodman stated after climbing by way of the ropes to affix Inoue. “Both surrender the belts or battle me. Let’s get it on.”