Inoue overcomes 1st-round knockdown, drills Nery in 6th
'The Monster' retains undisputed junior featherweight title; results from three more world title bouts on the undercard
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“The Monster” Naoya Inoue had never before been knocked down when suddenly Luis Nery connected with a powerful left hand during an exchange that floored him in the first round.
Immediately, it seemed that a huge upset could be brewing, eerily at the same arena — the Tokyo Dome — where the mother of all boxing upsets had taken place 34 years ago, when 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas shocked the world in a 10th-round knockout of the undefeated and seemingly unbeatable Mike Tyson to win the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Nery said leading into his challenge of Japanese mega star Inoue, the undisputed junior featherweight champion, that he believed their fight being at the Tokyo Dome was “a sign” that another upset was in the air. “If Mike Tyson can lose his unbeaten record there, then so can Naoya Inoue,” Nery figured.
Inoue, however, was not about to let history repeat itself, and certainly not in front of the capacity crowd of about 44,000 who packed the stadium for the second boxing event in its history.
Inoue, the 2023 consensus fighter of the year and No. 2 at worst on most pound-for-pound lists, got up quickly and went back to work, eventually dropping Nery in the second and fifth rounds and then scoring a devastating knockout in the sixth round to retain the undisputed 122-pound crown in an exciting display on Monday.
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