Takei wins first world title, Akui, Inoue and Inoue retain on stacked Tokyo Dome show!
10
To begin the card fans saw Australian fighter TJ Doheny (26-4, 19) continue his great form in Japan, as he scored a 4th round TKO win over the previously unbeaten Bryl Bayogos (7-1-1, 2). Doheny, who was added to the card at short notice, as an insurance policy for Luis Nery potentially missing weight, made sure to make the most of his opportunity to score a third straight TKO win in Japan, building on victories over Kazuki Nakajima and Japhetlee Llamido last year, and his career defining 2018 win over Ryosuke Iwasa for the IBF Super Bantamweight title. With the win he remains in the mix for a potential world title fight, whilst Bayogos got the chance to fight on a major card, get some international experience and fight on an historic event.
The first of the 4 world title bouts saw WBA Flyweight champion Seigo Yuri Akui (20-2-1, 11) [阿久井政悟] retain his title with a unanimous decision over Taku Kuwahara (13-2, 8) [桑原拓] in what was a rematch of a 2021 Japanese title bout, won in 10 rounds . From the off Akui was the man pressing and pressuring, whilst Kuwahara used his footwork and speed, using the outside of the ring and picking his moments as Akui came to him. The first round was a good one for Kuwahara, but he was being forced to use a lot of energy and by round two it did seem like Akui was starting to land the much heavier, more telling blows and timed Kuwahara numerous times. Round 3 was a really interesting round, where Kuwahara seemed to win the first 2 minutes, creating space well and landed a really good body shot, but Akui landed some monstrous headshots late on, in a round that could have gone either way. Kuwahara again started well in round 4, managing to create the space he needed to work early on, but once again as the round went on Akui managed to find his range, and again landed the heavier, more hurtful, single shots.
Round 5 was a much better round for Kuwahara, who seemed to find his distance more easily, and landed the better shots, limiting the success of Akui well though the round. The 6th round was very much a round that was dictated by body shots, as both went to the midsection on a regular basis. The body work of Akui seemed to be the more effective, slowing Kuwahara down for much of the round, until the final 20 seconds of the round as Kuwahara ended the round with a big flurry, making it a really tough round to score. In round 7 we saw a lot of action up close, with Kuwahara looking to have slowed, and less able to create the space he wanted to work, this massively favoured Akui, who had the much slower feet, and forced Kuwahara to fight fire with fire. The challenger had success when the two were trading, but it wasn’t the style of fight he wanted and this showed even more in round 8 as Akui began to relentless walk down Kuwahara, who tried to slow Akui with body shots, but couldn’t make Akui back off.
The relentlessness of Akui continued in round 9, with Kuwahara doing what he could to slow the pursuit of the champion, but being unable to get Akui’s respect, whilst also dropping his left hand as he moved, giving Akui an invitation to for his right hands. In round 10 things continued to get worse for Kuwahara as Akui’s relentless pressure had more and more success, including a huge right hand 2 minutes into the round. To his credit Kuwahara refused to give in and had moments in round 11, though was again on the receiving end for much of the round, despite a great burst of shots late on. Kuwahara came out fast in the final round, knowing he was well down, and letting it all go for the first 40 or so seconds. Sadly for him Akui saw out the storm and then returned with interest as he went out looking for a stoppage. To his credit Kuwahara dug deep and managed to see out the final round, but it wasn’t enough with scores of 117-111, twice and 118-110.
The second bout on the show also an all-Japanese affair as WBA Bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5) [井上拓真] got off the canvas to retain his title, with a wide decision against Sho Ishida (34-4, 17) [石田匠].
Ishida started the bout by trying to get behind his long, sharp, crisp jab and pressure behind it, coming forward behind the jab and looking to control range. Inoue, struggled to have much success due to the height and reach of Ishida, who managed to land one of the best punches of his career as he dropped Inoue with a perfectly placed counter jab, in what was a flash knockdown. Knowing he was down Inoue looked to up the tempo in round 2 though was quickly forced onto the ropes where he took a good straight right hand. As the round went on Inoue managed to land some solid shots of his own, particularly up close with the uppercut, but continued to struggle with the reach and jab of Ishida. The consistent jab of Ishida was the key to the round, but it did seem, as the round went on, that Inoue was starting to find his own timing and left Ishida with a bloodied nose. By round 3 Inoue was starting to land some nice combinations, and had began to get a read on the Ishida jab and managed to get inside going to both the head and body. He had also been able to consistently land his own jab, which was pretty much taking away the key weapon in Ishida’s arsenal. Round 4 followed on from round 3, with Inoue getting more success, more control and standing in the pocket regularly, landing some spiteful right hand around the guard of Ishida and his very stiff, hurtful, jab. By the end of the round it seemed like Ishida could no longer establish his jab like he had in the first 2 rounds as Inoue seemed to be smiling through his gum shield, enjoying the action.
In round 5 Inoue continued to build on his success, with Ishida really struggling to keep up the output needed to keep Inoue at bay and instead allowing Inoue to pick and choose when to engage and when to be out of range. Notably when they were up close Ishida did manage to connect with some good body blows, but was caught by some good 1-2’s earlier in the round and was certainly not having the style of fight he wanted. From the off in round 6 the two men were close, where Inoue was having much the better of things, with his crisp work up close, especially his uppercut, really catching the eye as blood began to pour from Ishida’s nose. With Ishida’s nose proving to be a target for Inoue, the champion saw a bullseye for more uppercuts as he started to bully Ishida up close and refuse to give Ishida the space to establish his jab. We saw Ishida continue to build any real momentum in round 7, as Inoue again took the jab away, got close, and landed some spiteful jabs, uppercuts and right hands of his own, breaking down the challenger. Sadly for Ishida he looked very predictable, one paced and lacked creativity in his offense. In round 8 we saw Inoue choose to back on to the ropes, almost trying to draw Ishida in, the tactic was short lived but did show that Inoue was willing to try something new, whilst Ishida again showed no real ability to mix up what he was doing.
Knowing he was behind Ishida finally showed something knew as he began to let fly with some body shots as Inoue was on the ropes in round 9. It was a much better round for Ishida, but Inoue still had the more eye catching shots, including a number of great uppercuts up close, and a clean right hand. To start round 10 Inoue began throwing with bad intention, continuing to have real success with the uppercut up close. Although being up close did leave Inoue open to some body shots from Ishida they weren’t nearly enough to give Ishida the round as he continued to be popped hard, especially up top. Round 11 saw Ishida start wall with his jab, but it wasn’t long until Inoue got inside again and started to really punish Ishida, landing a great body shot along with a number of spiteful head shots. The final 20 seconds of the round was sensation as the two stood and traded bombs, with both men forced to take some big head shots in the highlight of the fight. Going into round 12 it seemed clear Ishida would need a KO to win, but it wasn’t happening, his lack of power was showing through. He had moments, but it was too little, loo late. The final moments of the round were something of a mess, with the final bell going as Ishida was the canvas, being unceremoniously dumped there by Inoue, who got revenge for being pushed over a few rounds earlier.
The scores were comfortably in favour of Inoue, with scores of 118-109, twice, and 116-111.
The chief support bout on the card saw was also for a Bantamweight title, as WBO champion Jason Moloney (27-3, 19) face the hard hitting southpaw Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8) [武居由樹]
In the opening round we saw both men looking to establish their jabs, and get their lead foot on the outside. The two both struggled to get their range, through Takei did out land Moloney. Notably though the main talking point was Takei getting warned for going low, several times, with hurtful but accidental low blows. In round 2 things seemed to settle down a bit, with Takei showing some smart boxing and moving. A body shot midway through the round was judged to be low and saw Takei being deducted a point, in what appeared to be a very harsh call from Steve Willis. With the point deduction it seemed clear that Takei was going to have to avoid going to the body of Moloney and in round 3 Takei stuck to mostly working up top, whilst Moloney began to quickly run out of ideas, standing at range and struggling to get much going at all and struggling to get past the jab of Takei. In round 4 we again saw Moloney struggle to close the distance, and land anything of note. Interestingly both men hit the canvas this round, with Takei being pushed down and Moloney. Late in the round Moloney did land a great shot, but was quickly punished as Takei responded with interest as he continued to notch the rounds, moving 4-0 up.
Round 5 saw Takei continue to control the action and he seemed to hurt Moloney as the two stood in the pocket. The toughness of Moloney allowed him to see out the storm, but it was clear that Takei had stung him and it wasn’t the first time he had felt the power of Takei. Despite recovering Moloney really didn’t change things after being hurt, coming forward behind a high guard but having little success with his shots. Takei continued to control in round 6, using the jab really well early in the round to not just control Moloney, but to also set up his hurtful left hand and his right hooks, as he began to mark the face of Moloney. The final 30 seconds of the round was Moloney’s best part of the fight, as he managed to have some success of his own, but it wasn’t enough to take the round, and he was tagged hard just moments before the bell. In round 7 we saw Takei visibly slow down, pick his moments more carefully, likely realising how tough Moloney was. Despite slowing down Takei still did enough to take the round, with Moloney unable to cut the distance and get his own shots off with any consistency. In round 8 Moloney had easily his best moment as he landed a combination, with a shot right on the chin and Takei was forced to hold on for the first time. Midway through the round the action was stopped for Takei to get his gumshield put in his mouth, which hadn’t been in for the first 80 seconds of the round. Takei also then slipped in Moloney’s corner, where Moloney had slipped earlier in the fight. Despite the two breaks in action, the round was easily the best for Moloney, as Takei continued to slow down, and began to look like he was feeling the tempo of the action.
Despite visibly tiring, which took a very clear effect on Takei’s footwork, Takei managed to land some good shots early in round 9 as he looked to slow Moloney’s growing momentum. A clash of heads saw the action break again and after that Takei did land a couple of very solid left hands, though Moloney did connect with some solid of his own. There was another pause at the very start of round 10 as something had to be removed from Moloney’s corner. Despite looking tired for several rounds Takei looked again to reestablish himself in round 10, in what was his best round for quite a while. He controlled the action landing some solid jabs, several eye catching combinations, and more pressure than we’d seen from him earlier in the fight. The shots took their toll on Moloney, who himself began to slow down just as Takei seemed to be getting his second wind. That second wind continued into round 11 as Takei again got the better of things as Moloney again struggled to have any sustained success or even dictate the distance of the action. As Takei created space, forcing Moloney to come in he then picked him off with stiff jabs and hurtful left hands. Going into the final round it seemed like Moloney needed a KO to retain his title, and Takei could, and perhaps should, have got on his feet and ran. Instead Takei continued to fight, landing heavy leather, pretty much letting Moloney walk into his shots as he himself looked for a knock out in the first 90 seconds of the round. Takei then looked at the clock, and after a good start to the round for Takei it seemed he had given everything in his tank. From there on we then then saw Moloney put his foot on the gas, letting everything go as Takei began to look absolutely shattered and unable to keep his guard up. Takei was standing up right on just his fighting heart and spirit, and had nothing left to give. Had the fight been just a minute longer Moloney would have finished him off. As it was however Takei had done enough early on, and that was confirmed on the cards, with scores of 117-110 and 116-111, twice, in favour of Takei.
With the win Takei becomes the 100th Japanese world champion* and sees Japanese fighters holding all 4 of the Bantamweight world titles, once vacated by Naoya Inoue.
In the main event we saw Unified Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24) [井上尚弥] take on Mexican challenger Luis Nery (35-2, 27), and despite a scare early on, did what was expected and stopped the Mexican.
At the start Inoue took center ring and came close with a sweeping right hand after just 15 seconds, moments later he managed to land one, which Nery took well. Nery tried to respond but fell short with his shots. Soon afterwards Inoue landed with a hook and a right hand. A counter just moments later dropped Inoue with a huge sweep left hand, who like his brother earlier on the show didn’t look hurt and was clear eyed when the count was given. It was the first time he had been down, as either an amateur or a professional, but he showed a good understanding of the situation, taking his time and getting to his feet when he was ready. The knockdown gave Nery confidence with the Mexican going hunting, and Inoue managed to land several good clean counters on the ropes, but it was a clear 10-8 to Nery. Early in round 2 Inoue landed a good 1-2, and started to rely on his sharp jab more. As the round went on both men became ultra-patient, waiting for the other to make a mistake, with it being Nery who made the first mistake as he over-committed and was dropped himself by a counter left hook. In round 3 we saw a more aggressive Inoue as he tagged Nery on the ropes, and let several hard combinations go through the round. As the round went on it seemed like Nery was too slow and that Inoue was reading everything he was doing in advance of Nery actually doing it. Not only was Inoue reading Nery but he was also landing some very powerful right hands, some going right through the Nery guard.
Nery came out more aggressively in round 4, knowing he had to change things up after a poor round 3. The more aggressive Nery was however, the more holes he was leaving defensively and it even lead to Inoue taunting and daring Nery to hit him. As the round went on it was starting to look like a showcase for Inoue, who was pulling exhibition stuff whilst Making Nery look like something of an amateur. To his credit, Nery was taking the shots well, but it seemed like Inoue was chipping away at him, mentally and physically, whilst also leaving Nery’s face looking swollen. In round 5 Inoue continued to tag Nery at will as Nery began to try and come forward and risk it all. As Nery came in he got tagged by two huge left hands with Inoue on the ropes, being dropped a second time. With Nery clearly hurt Inoue went for the finish at the end of the round, but Nery managed to see out the round.
To start round 6 Inoue was again chipping away at Nery, almost wanting Nery to fire at him so he could counter. As the round went on Nery was dropped again, this time from a round hand, with the referee waving off the bout as Nery was still plonked on the canvas.
Despite being dropped for the first time in his career, a flash knockdown, Inoue managed to do what he had to here. Not only beating Nery into submission with 3 knockdowns, but also putting on a show for fans around the globe, as well as the 55,000 in the Tokyo Dome, becoming the first Japanese fighter to headline at the Big Egg.
(*The count for Japanese world champions include non-Japanese born, Japanese based fighters, who were fighting out of Japanese gyms, such as Takeshi Fuji, Yuri Arbashakov, Orzbek Nazarov, Eagle Den Junlaphan and Jorge Linares; Shingaki isn't included in some counts, such as the JBC count, as the IBF weren't recognised by the JBC at the time of his title win).
The first of the 4 world title bouts saw WBA Flyweight champion Seigo Yuri Akui (20-2-1, 11) [阿久井政悟] retain his title with a unanimous decision over Taku Kuwahara (13-2, 8) [桑原拓] in what was a rematch of a 2021 Japanese title bout, won in 10 rounds . From the off Akui was the man pressing and pressuring, whilst Kuwahara used his footwork and speed, using the outside of the ring and picking his moments as Akui came to him. The first round was a good one for Kuwahara, but he was being forced to use a lot of energy and by round two it did seem like Akui was starting to land the much heavier, more telling blows and timed Kuwahara numerous times. Round 3 was a really interesting round, where Kuwahara seemed to win the first 2 minutes, creating space well and landed a really good body shot, but Akui landed some monstrous headshots late on, in a round that could have gone either way. Kuwahara again started well in round 4, managing to create the space he needed to work early on, but once again as the round went on Akui managed to find his range, and again landed the heavier, more hurtful, single shots.
Round 5 was a much better round for Kuwahara, who seemed to find his distance more easily, and landed the better shots, limiting the success of Akui well though the round. The 6th round was very much a round that was dictated by body shots, as both went to the midsection on a regular basis. The body work of Akui seemed to be the more effective, slowing Kuwahara down for much of the round, until the final 20 seconds of the round as Kuwahara ended the round with a big flurry, making it a really tough round to score. In round 7 we saw a lot of action up close, with Kuwahara looking to have slowed, and less able to create the space he wanted to work, this massively favoured Akui, who had the much slower feet, and forced Kuwahara to fight fire with fire. The challenger had success when the two were trading, but it wasn’t the style of fight he wanted and this showed even more in round 8 as Akui began to relentless walk down Kuwahara, who tried to slow Akui with body shots, but couldn’t make Akui back off.
The relentlessness of Akui continued in round 9, with Kuwahara doing what he could to slow the pursuit of the champion, but being unable to get Akui’s respect, whilst also dropping his left hand as he moved, giving Akui an invitation to for his right hands. In round 10 things continued to get worse for Kuwahara as Akui’s relentless pressure had more and more success, including a huge right hand 2 minutes into the round. To his credit Kuwahara refused to give in and had moments in round 11, though was again on the receiving end for much of the round, despite a great burst of shots late on. Kuwahara came out fast in the final round, knowing he was well down, and letting it all go for the first 40 or so seconds. Sadly for him Akui saw out the storm and then returned with interest as he went out looking for a stoppage. To his credit Kuwahara dug deep and managed to see out the final round, but it wasn’t enough with scores of 117-111, twice and 118-110.
The second bout on the show also an all-Japanese affair as WBA Bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5) [井上拓真] got off the canvas to retain his title, with a wide decision against Sho Ishida (34-4, 17) [石田匠].
Ishida started the bout by trying to get behind his long, sharp, crisp jab and pressure behind it, coming forward behind the jab and looking to control range. Inoue, struggled to have much success due to the height and reach of Ishida, who managed to land one of the best punches of his career as he dropped Inoue with a perfectly placed counter jab, in what was a flash knockdown. Knowing he was down Inoue looked to up the tempo in round 2 though was quickly forced onto the ropes where he took a good straight right hand. As the round went on Inoue managed to land some solid shots of his own, particularly up close with the uppercut, but continued to struggle with the reach and jab of Ishida. The consistent jab of Ishida was the key to the round, but it did seem, as the round went on, that Inoue was starting to find his own timing and left Ishida with a bloodied nose. By round 3 Inoue was starting to land some nice combinations, and had began to get a read on the Ishida jab and managed to get inside going to both the head and body. He had also been able to consistently land his own jab, which was pretty much taking away the key weapon in Ishida’s arsenal. Round 4 followed on from round 3, with Inoue getting more success, more control and standing in the pocket regularly, landing some spiteful right hand around the guard of Ishida and his very stiff, hurtful, jab. By the end of the round it seemed like Ishida could no longer establish his jab like he had in the first 2 rounds as Inoue seemed to be smiling through his gum shield, enjoying the action.
In round 5 Inoue continued to build on his success, with Ishida really struggling to keep up the output needed to keep Inoue at bay and instead allowing Inoue to pick and choose when to engage and when to be out of range. Notably when they were up close Ishida did manage to connect with some good body blows, but was caught by some good 1-2’s earlier in the round and was certainly not having the style of fight he wanted. From the off in round 6 the two men were close, where Inoue was having much the better of things, with his crisp work up close, especially his uppercut, really catching the eye as blood began to pour from Ishida’s nose. With Ishida’s nose proving to be a target for Inoue, the champion saw a bullseye for more uppercuts as he started to bully Ishida up close and refuse to give Ishida the space to establish his jab. We saw Ishida continue to build any real momentum in round 7, as Inoue again took the jab away, got close, and landed some spiteful jabs, uppercuts and right hands of his own, breaking down the challenger. Sadly for Ishida he looked very predictable, one paced and lacked creativity in his offense. In round 8 we saw Inoue choose to back on to the ropes, almost trying to draw Ishida in, the tactic was short lived but did show that Inoue was willing to try something new, whilst Ishida again showed no real ability to mix up what he was doing.
Knowing he was behind Ishida finally showed something knew as he began to let fly with some body shots as Inoue was on the ropes in round 9. It was a much better round for Ishida, but Inoue still had the more eye catching shots, including a number of great uppercuts up close, and a clean right hand. To start round 10 Inoue began throwing with bad intention, continuing to have real success with the uppercut up close. Although being up close did leave Inoue open to some body shots from Ishida they weren’t nearly enough to give Ishida the round as he continued to be popped hard, especially up top. Round 11 saw Ishida start wall with his jab, but it wasn’t long until Inoue got inside again and started to really punish Ishida, landing a great body shot along with a number of spiteful head shots. The final 20 seconds of the round was sensation as the two stood and traded bombs, with both men forced to take some big head shots in the highlight of the fight. Going into round 12 it seemed clear Ishida would need a KO to win, but it wasn’t happening, his lack of power was showing through. He had moments, but it was too little, loo late. The final moments of the round were something of a mess, with the final bell going as Ishida was the canvas, being unceremoniously dumped there by Inoue, who got revenge for being pushed over a few rounds earlier.
The scores were comfortably in favour of Inoue, with scores of 118-109, twice, and 116-111.
The chief support bout on the card saw was also for a Bantamweight title, as WBO champion Jason Moloney (27-3, 19) face the hard hitting southpaw Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8) [武居由樹]
In the opening round we saw both men looking to establish their jabs, and get their lead foot on the outside. The two both struggled to get their range, through Takei did out land Moloney. Notably though the main talking point was Takei getting warned for going low, several times, with hurtful but accidental low blows. In round 2 things seemed to settle down a bit, with Takei showing some smart boxing and moving. A body shot midway through the round was judged to be low and saw Takei being deducted a point, in what appeared to be a very harsh call from Steve Willis. With the point deduction it seemed clear that Takei was going to have to avoid going to the body of Moloney and in round 3 Takei stuck to mostly working up top, whilst Moloney began to quickly run out of ideas, standing at range and struggling to get much going at all and struggling to get past the jab of Takei. In round 4 we again saw Moloney struggle to close the distance, and land anything of note. Interestingly both men hit the canvas this round, with Takei being pushed down and Moloney. Late in the round Moloney did land a great shot, but was quickly punished as Takei responded with interest as he continued to notch the rounds, moving 4-0 up.
Round 5 saw Takei continue to control the action and he seemed to hurt Moloney as the two stood in the pocket. The toughness of Moloney allowed him to see out the storm, but it was clear that Takei had stung him and it wasn’t the first time he had felt the power of Takei. Despite recovering Moloney really didn’t change things after being hurt, coming forward behind a high guard but having little success with his shots. Takei continued to control in round 6, using the jab really well early in the round to not just control Moloney, but to also set up his hurtful left hand and his right hooks, as he began to mark the face of Moloney. The final 30 seconds of the round was Moloney’s best part of the fight, as he managed to have some success of his own, but it wasn’t enough to take the round, and he was tagged hard just moments before the bell. In round 7 we saw Takei visibly slow down, pick his moments more carefully, likely realising how tough Moloney was. Despite slowing down Takei still did enough to take the round, with Moloney unable to cut the distance and get his own shots off with any consistency. In round 8 Moloney had easily his best moment as he landed a combination, with a shot right on the chin and Takei was forced to hold on for the first time. Midway through the round the action was stopped for Takei to get his gumshield put in his mouth, which hadn’t been in for the first 80 seconds of the round. Takei also then slipped in Moloney’s corner, where Moloney had slipped earlier in the fight. Despite the two breaks in action, the round was easily the best for Moloney, as Takei continued to slow down, and began to look like he was feeling the tempo of the action.
Despite visibly tiring, which took a very clear effect on Takei’s footwork, Takei managed to land some good shots early in round 9 as he looked to slow Moloney’s growing momentum. A clash of heads saw the action break again and after that Takei did land a couple of very solid left hands, though Moloney did connect with some solid of his own. There was another pause at the very start of round 10 as something had to be removed from Moloney’s corner. Despite looking tired for several rounds Takei looked again to reestablish himself in round 10, in what was his best round for quite a while. He controlled the action landing some solid jabs, several eye catching combinations, and more pressure than we’d seen from him earlier in the fight. The shots took their toll on Moloney, who himself began to slow down just as Takei seemed to be getting his second wind. That second wind continued into round 11 as Takei again got the better of things as Moloney again struggled to have any sustained success or even dictate the distance of the action. As Takei created space, forcing Moloney to come in he then picked him off with stiff jabs and hurtful left hands. Going into the final round it seemed like Moloney needed a KO to retain his title, and Takei could, and perhaps should, have got on his feet and ran. Instead Takei continued to fight, landing heavy leather, pretty much letting Moloney walk into his shots as he himself looked for a knock out in the first 90 seconds of the round. Takei then looked at the clock, and after a good start to the round for Takei it seemed he had given everything in his tank. From there on we then then saw Moloney put his foot on the gas, letting everything go as Takei began to look absolutely shattered and unable to keep his guard up. Takei was standing up right on just his fighting heart and spirit, and had nothing left to give. Had the fight been just a minute longer Moloney would have finished him off. As it was however Takei had done enough early on, and that was confirmed on the cards, with scores of 117-110 and 116-111, twice, in favour of Takei.
With the win Takei becomes the 100th Japanese world champion* and sees Japanese fighters holding all 4 of the Bantamweight world titles, once vacated by Naoya Inoue.
In the main event we saw Unified Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24) [井上尚弥] take on Mexican challenger Luis Nery (35-2, 27), and despite a scare early on, did what was expected and stopped the Mexican.
At the start Inoue took center ring and came close with a sweeping right hand after just 15 seconds, moments later he managed to land one, which Nery took well. Nery tried to respond but fell short with his shots. Soon afterwards Inoue landed with a hook and a right hand. A counter just moments later dropped Inoue with a huge sweep left hand, who like his brother earlier on the show didn’t look hurt and was clear eyed when the count was given. It was the first time he had been down, as either an amateur or a professional, but he showed a good understanding of the situation, taking his time and getting to his feet when he was ready. The knockdown gave Nery confidence with the Mexican going hunting, and Inoue managed to land several good clean counters on the ropes, but it was a clear 10-8 to Nery. Early in round 2 Inoue landed a good 1-2, and started to rely on his sharp jab more. As the round went on both men became ultra-patient, waiting for the other to make a mistake, with it being Nery who made the first mistake as he over-committed and was dropped himself by a counter left hook. In round 3 we saw a more aggressive Inoue as he tagged Nery on the ropes, and let several hard combinations go through the round. As the round went on it seemed like Nery was too slow and that Inoue was reading everything he was doing in advance of Nery actually doing it. Not only was Inoue reading Nery but he was also landing some very powerful right hands, some going right through the Nery guard.
Nery came out more aggressively in round 4, knowing he had to change things up after a poor round 3. The more aggressive Nery was however, the more holes he was leaving defensively and it even lead to Inoue taunting and daring Nery to hit him. As the round went on it was starting to look like a showcase for Inoue, who was pulling exhibition stuff whilst Making Nery look like something of an amateur. To his credit, Nery was taking the shots well, but it seemed like Inoue was chipping away at him, mentally and physically, whilst also leaving Nery’s face looking swollen. In round 5 Inoue continued to tag Nery at will as Nery began to try and come forward and risk it all. As Nery came in he got tagged by two huge left hands with Inoue on the ropes, being dropped a second time. With Nery clearly hurt Inoue went for the finish at the end of the round, but Nery managed to see out the round.
To start round 6 Inoue was again chipping away at Nery, almost wanting Nery to fire at him so he could counter. As the round went on Nery was dropped again, this time from a round hand, with the referee waving off the bout as Nery was still plonked on the canvas.
Despite being dropped for the first time in his career, a flash knockdown, Inoue managed to do what he had to here. Not only beating Nery into submission with 3 knockdowns, but also putting on a show for fans around the globe, as well as the 55,000 in the Tokyo Dome, becoming the first Japanese fighter to headline at the Big Egg.
(*The count for Japanese world champions include non-Japanese born, Japanese based fighters, who were fighting out of Japanese gyms, such as Takeshi Fuji, Yuri Arbashakov, Orzbek Nazarov, Eagle Den Junlaphan and Jorge Linares; Shingaki isn't included in some counts, such as the JBC count, as the IBF weren't recognised by the JBC at the time of his title win).