Naoya Inoue gets up off the canvas to defeat Luis Nery via devastating sixth-round KO… as the undisputed super-bantamweight king stakes his claim as the No 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet
- Naoya Inoue suffered the first defeat of his career in the victory over Luis Nery
- But the undisputed champion recovered to score a sixth-round KO in Tokyo
- The undefeated 31-year-old has recorded 24 knockouts from 27 fights as a professional
Undisputed world super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue bounced back from the first defeat of his professional career to stop Luis Nery in devastating fashion.
The 31-year-old Japanese, who has world titles at four different weights and two undisputed titles to his name, fell in the first round but rebounded to secure a sixth-round victory after beating his Mexican opponent to the a third time with a brutal right hand.
Nery stunned both the champion and a sold-out crowd of 55,000 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, where Buster Douglas shocked Mike Tyson in 1990 when he floored Inoue with a swinging left hook just two minutes into the fight.
However, Nery had to pick himself up off the canvas in the second after the Japanese fighter caught him with a short left hand.
Inoue scored heavily with the straight right in an impressive performance in the third round and started to put on a show in the fourth as a frustrated Nery repeatedly missed the target with his big punches and was peppered with his opponent’s jab and body shots.
Naoya Inoue climbed off the canvas to retain his undisputed super bantamweight crown against Luis Nery
A short left hook from Neary dropped Inoue for the first time in his career in the opening round
But the 31-year-old recovered and controlled much of the game from the front foot
An explosive right in the sixth round sent Nery crashing into the ropes and marked Inoue’s 24th KO victory
The four-weight world champion has now won his last eight fights in distance
The 29-year-old’s work became increasingly sloppy as he tired and after being warned for leading with his head, he was felled by another left hook in round five, with the end arriving midway through the sixth.
Inoue, nicknamed ‘The Monster’, had opened Nery with a deadly combination and after forcing him to the ropes, dispatched him with a vicious right hand to end the match and make a successful second defense of the titles he held in December won to complete.
It was the 27th win of his undefeated career and 24th knockout, and only a second defeat for Nery in 37 bouts.