Naoya Inoue will get up from knockdown, wins by KO in Spherical 6

(This story initially revealed on MMA Junkie sister-site BoxingJunkie.com)

We noticed that Naoya Inoue isn’t good. After which we witnessed his greatness.

Luis Nery shocked Inoue and everybody watching by placing Inoue down with an ideal left hook within the opening spherical of their struggle on the Tokyo Dome, the positioning of Buster Douglas’ historic upset of Mike Tyson.

Would we see one other stunning end result there? Uh, no.

Inoue, his otherworldly skills on full show, bought up from the knockdown to place his Mexican opponent down thrice earlier than referee Michael Griffin stopped the struggle at 1:22 of Spherical 6 (through X):

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Re-watch the Demolition on the Dome 💥 pic.twitter.com/ckGGD9rZSX

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Thus, Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) retained his undisputed 122-pound championship.

“That taking place gave me motivation,” Inoue stated concerning the knockdown by way of a translator afterward.

Nery’s hook a couple of minute and a half into the struggle — landed when Inoue’s proper hand was down — genuinely rocked the champion, who had by no means been on the canvas in his decade lengthy profession.

He bought up rapidly however went right into a defensive mode, maybe an indication that he felt the burden of the blow. Nevertheless, by the top of the spherical he appeared to be at 100%.

Then got here the fireworks. Inoue, cautious to keep away from Nery’s left thereafter, proceeded to choose the slower, much less skillful Nery other than each the inside and outside till the Mexican challenger may struggle no extra.

Inoue put the challenger down with a brief left hook as he was speeding in recklessly within the second spherical, though Nery wasn’t damage.

The champion scored the second knockdown with the identical punch in Spherical 3. This time Nery appeared to really really feel Inoue’s energy.

And, after taking a fearful beating that broke him down over the following two-plus rounds, Nery went down as soon as extra from a proper hand as his again was in opposition to the ropes.

Griffin had no motive to depend as Nery sat on the canvas. He was completed. Inoue had the sixteenth knockout in his final 17 fights.

It seems that unbeaten contender Sam Goodman could be Inoue’s subsequent opponent. The Australian, Inoue’s necessary challenger, was within the ring after the struggle and referred to as out the champion.

“Look, I’ve been necessary for over a yr. Both hand over the belts or struggle me. Let’s get it on,” Goodman stated.

Inoue stated he would open negotiations with Goodman for a struggle in September.