Naoya Inoue of Japan in action. Photo: Hiroaki Yamaguchi
Undefeated Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue survived a first-round knockdown to knock out challenger Luis Nery in the sixth and defend his undisputed super bantamweight world championship at the Tokyo Dome.
Inoue progressed to a professional record of 27-0, with 24 of his victories coming by KO or TKO. Mexico's Nery suffered the second knockout of his professional career, and fell to 35-2.
Nery's left hook knocked down Inoue for the first time in his career, but the 31-year-old got back up and knocked Nery down in the second round with his own left hook to regain momentum.
Another left hook from Inoue dropped Nery in the fifth before a right hand finished the bout in the next round, ensuring Inoue retained his WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF belts in front of a sold-out home crowd.
- Reuters