Naoya Inoue boosts claim as world’s best boxer with destruction of Luis Nery

On Monday, Naoya Inoue, who is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, showcased his impressive skills by retaining his undisputed junior featherweight championship title. He faced a tough challenge against Luis Nery, even getting knocked down at one point, but ultimately won the match with a technical knockout.

In the Tokyo Dome, there were approximately 50,000 people in the audience who watched in shock as Inoue was hit with a powerful left hook near the end of the first round. This was the first time this had happened during his 12 years as a professional boxer. Despite this setback, Inoue, who is known as the Monster and has an unbeaten record, was incredibly focused. He got his revenge by knocking down his Mexican opponent in both the second and fifth rounds before delivering a stunning right hook in the sixth which ended the fight.

Inoue mentioned that the knockdown he received was a great source of motivation for him. He has managed to win all of his 27 fights, with 24 of them being knockouts. He noted that he maintained focus until the end of the fight.

In just half a year, the 31-year-old boxer Inoue added to his already impressive reputation by defeating Marlon Tapales to become the unified holder of all four world titles at 122lbs. With now 21 wins and 19 knockouts in world championship fights, he continues his impressive climb up the boxing weight classes, akin to Manny Pacquiao's prime years. Inoue is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the boxing world.

Nery, a professional boxer with a record of 35 wins and 2 losses, 27 of which were knockouts, has previously held the WBC title in two different weight classes. He was considered a substantial underdog with a 10-1 odds against him, and also had to deal with an unfriendly crowd during his match on Monday. However, the boxer from Tijuana who fights in a southpaw stance, managed to connect a powerful left punch on his opponent who was recklessly approaching him, during the last moments of the first round. Although Inoue appeared shaken, he did not suffer major harm, except for taking a knee early in the referee's count. He quickly regained his composure and stood up at the count of eight, while Nery continued to try and finish him off before the end of the round. Nonetheless, Inoue was able to keep himself in the game and made it to the end of the round.

During the second round, there was an even match for the first two minutes. However, Inoue retaliated with a precise counter left hook, causing an off-balance Nery to fall to the ground. After this, Inoue kept an eye on his opponent and quickly noticed that Nery didn't have any other tactics. As a result, the third round brought about some trouble for Nery.

On the fourth round, Inoue showcased his distinct blend of strength, quickness and agility by gesturing towards his jaw and flaunting his skills at the middle of the area. Nery's visage started to inflame as Inoue pummeled him with blows, aiming to arrange the left hook to hit Nery's midsection.

Towards the end of the fifth round, Nery made a mistake by letting his guard down for just a moment. This gave Inoue the chance to deliver a powerful left-handed punch to Nery's chin, causing him to fall down for the second time. Nery was able to stand back up before the bell rang, but things didn't go well for him in the sixth round. Inoue hit him with a huge right punch that made Nery fall down for the third and final time. The referee, Michael Griffin, made the call to end the fight after that.

According to the punch statistics from Compubox, Inoue successfully hit 107 out of 239 blows, achieving a 44.8% accuracy. On the other hand, Nery only managed to land 54 out of 194 punches, with a lower accuracy rate of 27.8%.

The recent conclusion of the match was quite impressive for Inoue, who stands at a height of 5 feet and 5 inches. He gained his initial world championship at the weight category of 108lbs after just six fights in his professional career. Following this, he earned an additional belt at 115lbs, and even obtained the title of undisputed champion at both 118lbs and 122lbs within the timeframe of 378 days.

Boxing made a comeback at the Big Egg with a jam-packed card featuring four world title fights. This was the first time since February 1990, when Mike Tyson, the undefeated heavyweight champion, suffered a shocking loss to the 42-1 underdog James 'Buster' Douglas. It remains one of the most remarkable upsets in sports history.

Inoue is not like Tyson. He's actually superior, both in terms of experience and his eagerness to win. He has faced and defeated all thirteen world champions he has encountered. At only 31 years old, he is already one of the best athletes across different weight divisions in all of history. He is undoubtedly a superstar and arguably the main attraction in sports today.

It's up to personal judgment if Inoue surpassing Terence Crawford as the undisputed welterweight champion is sufficient to make him the top contender in boxing's pound-for-pound list. However, everyone can agree that it's only between these two fighters and no one else stands a chance.