Naoya Inoue retains Super Bantam titles with 6th round TKO of Nery at Tokyo Dome; Returns from first knockdown of career

Naoya Inoue lived up to his nickname as a boxing monster when he defended his unified world super bantamweight titles with a sixth-round technical knockout of Mexico’s Luis Nery at Tokyo Dome on Monday, although the victory came with an unexpected upset.

Inoue suffered the first knockdown of his pro career when Nery sent Inoue to the canvas with a left hook in the first round, shocking the crowd of 43,000 who witnessed the first world title fight at Tokyo Dome since the stunning upset of James “Buster” Douglas by Mike Tyson from 1990.

But the 31-year-old Inoue shook off the knockdown and sent his Mexican opponent to the canvas three times from the second round. In the sixth round, Inoue landed a decisive draw that knocked Nery down in the corner, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

“I think I was nervous when I saw the scene [big crowd] at the Dome,” Inoue said. As he scored another big win for Japanese boxing, he added: “I felt pressure, but the support of the crowd gave me strength.”

The victory increased Inoue’s record to 27-0 with 24 knockouts, and allowed him to retain the super bantamweight belts of all four global boxing organizations: the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO. Nery, 29, entered the fight in first place according to the WBC.

Inoue has now won 22 world title fights, equaling Kazuto Ioka’s record for Japanese boxers.

The fight was the main event of the four title fights scheduled at Tokyo Dome, where Tyson also won a world heavyweight fight in 1988 before returning in 1990 for his stunning loss to Douglas.