By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Japanese boxing superstar Naoya Inoue shrugged off an early knockdown scare and pulled off a masterful reverse sweep in the next rounds to dispose Mexican challenger Luis Nery in the sixth on May 6, 2024, at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
Despite suffering an early knockdown deficit in the opening round when Nery caught Inoue with a well-timed left hook, the reigning undisputed king of the junior featherweight division buckled to work in the next five rounds and turned the championship bout into a lopsided beating.
With only 56 seconds left in the second round, Inoue was able to level the knockdown counter after catching Nery with a sweeping left punch.
Inoue then regained his footing in the match after scoring his first knockdown and just flipped the switch after schooling Nery with several 1-2 combinations.
All hell broke loose again in the final 40 seconds of the fifth round as Inoue tallied his second knockdown of the fight.
As Nery was approaching Inoue after seeing a corner advantage, the clever Japanese knockout artist was able to sneak in another quick left hook that officially turned the tables of the bout in his favor.
Nery’s chance of snatching Inoue’s belts then quickly vanished at the 1:44 mark of the sixth round after the latter sent in the final blow, connecting with a devastating right hook that sent the Mexican to the canvas.
After feeling the impact, Nery failed to get up and the official match referee waved off the fight, rewarding the impressive victory to Inoue who retained his WBC, WBO, IBF, and WBA junior featherweight championship belts.
With the win, Inoue maintained his untainted professional boxing record to 27 wins and 24 knockouts while Nery dropped to 35 wins, 27 knockouts, and two losses.
