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Naoya Inoue Retains World Titles with a 6th-Round TKO of Luis Nery

After being knocked down for the first time in his career in the first round, Naoya Inoue found his punching rhythm and seized control at Tokyo Dome.

By Ed Odeven

In his latest fight, Naoya Inoue demonstrated that although his aura of invincibility slipped away for a few seconds, he remains a master at exploiting his opponent’s weaknesses.

After being handed the first knockdown of his career nearly two minutes into the first round against Mexican challenger Luis Nery on Monday night, May 6 at Tokyo Dome, Inoue knocked down his opponent in the second, fifth and sixth rounds.

The unbeaten super bantamweight world champion was more aggressive and more effective in landing punches in bunches throughout the match. In short, the totality of Inoue’s onslaught was too much for Nery to handle. 

That led to the fight’s defining moment as the partisan crowd of roughly 43,000 spectators cheered him on.

In an overpowering display of devastating punching power combined with jaw-dropping hand speed, Inoue clinched the technical-knockout victory at the 1:22 mark of the sixth round as Canadian referee Michael Griffin signaled the fight was over. Nery fell victim to a combination of sharp blows from Inoue, including a right uppercut to the head near the ropes, a punch that dropped him to the canvas.

Naoya Inoue
Luis Nery loses his balance after being hit by a Naoya Inoue punch in the sixth round. Referee Michael Griffin stopped the fight seconds later. (©SANKEI)

It signaled the end of Nery’s title shot and marked Inoue’s first simultaneous defense of all four super bantamweight title belts (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF).

After the fight, Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) did not speak to reporters. He went to a local hospital.

Naoya Inoue: Among the World’s Best of the Best

Is Naoya Inoue the best professional boxer in the world today?

Based on all that he’s accomplished in his career ― world titles in four weight classes and 27 wins in 27 fights (24 knockouts) ― respected boxing experts narrow the argument down to two fighters, Inoue and current world welterweight king Terence Crawford (40-0). Like Inoue, Crawford has also captured undisputed world titles in two weight classes. No other male boxers in the four-belt era (since 2004) have accomplished that feat.

Inoue became the undisputed super bantamweight champ by beating Filipino Marlon Tapales via a 10th-round KO on December 26, 2023, at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. He previously held all four championship belts as a bantamweight.

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