Naoya Inoue recovered from a shock first round knockdown to knock out Luis Nery in round six of their undisputed super-bantamweight title fight.
The fight was taking place in front of 55,000 fans at the iconic Tokyo Dome in Japan, with Inoue ensuring that his fans got the happy result they wanted after a shaky start.
The arena fell silent in the opening minutes of the bout when Inoue was dropped for the first time in his career after Nery landed a big shot.
The Japanese hero managed to recover, and despite Nery’s good start, Inoue began to take over and displayed the huge power he has been known for.
He dropped Nery in round two, before further knockdowns followed in round five and round six, with the referee waving off the contest and handing Inoue the victory, who shared his thoughts after the win.
“I appreciate Nery. 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.
“I don’t remember anything my dad told me in the intermission, but that happening gave me motivation. I was so focused until the end of the fight.
“Thank you so much to everyone for witnessing my fight. There are over 40,000 people here in the Tokyo Dome. I promise that I will keep giving you fights that get you excited.”
Attention will now turn to who Inoue will face next, with fans already clamouring for the pound-for-pound superstar to make a potential move to featherweight and a chance to win another world title in another weight class.
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