In the fifth bout of “Lemino BOXING” held at the Tokyo Dome on the 2nd, WBA world bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue (Ohashi) successfully defended his title for the first time with a dominant 3-0 unanimous decision victory over four-division world champion and fourth-ranked challenger Kazuto Ioka (Shisei). Scores were 118-108, 119-107, and 120-106. In addition to his maiden defence, Inoue thwarted Ioka’s ambition to become a five-division world champion by scoring two knockdowns during the 12-round contest.
2回に井岡から先制のダウンを奪った井上㊧
The bout began with an expected battle of left jabs, which Inoue controlled to seize the initiative. Ioka pressured Inoue toward the ropes and unleashed combinations, but lacked the hand speed to land effectively as Inoue avoided the attacks with ease.
A stunning moment arrived in the second round. Inoue extended a right straight that snapped Ioka’s head back, followed by a counter right landed while backing against the ropes. A subsequent flurry sent Ioka to the canvas.
Ioka regained his feet and survived until the bell, but in the third round, Inoue forced him down again with a signature right uppercut. Despite the dominance, Inoue remained disciplined, drawing Ioka in to land counters and moving laterally to evade Ioka’s flurries.
The open scoring after four rounds showed Inoue leading 39-35, 39-35, and 40-34.
Ioka attempted to close the distance, targeting the body with left hooks following a right straight, but Inoue utilised weaving and lateral movement to escape, returning fire with left jabs and right uppercuts. In the seventh, Inoue landed a right uppercut followed by a left hook, before connecting with successive clean right uppercuts. Ioka refused to back down and fired back with combinations, but Inoue evaded them with composure.
By the end of the eighth round, the scores widened to 79-71, 79-71, and 80-70 in favour of Inoue.
In the tenth, Inoue lured Ioka in and landed precise jabs and right straights, causing Ioka to bleed from the nose. Unable to find his range with the jab or time his right hand, Ioka struggled to connect. He managed to rouse the crowd in the eleventh by pinning Inoue to the ropes and throwing a series of downward rights and left hooks, but Inoue used quick footwork to reset the distance.
In the final round, Inoue unleashed a fierce assault looking to finish the fight, but Ioka remained resilient. Continuing his sharp boxing, Inoue baited Ioka and landed a clean right uppercut-left hook combination. He maintained control until the final bell, consistently landing damaging blows.
“The tense 12 rounds went by in a flash. It was a very enjoyable fight,” the champion remarked. “I am who I am because of legends like him. I want to thank Ioka for bringing out the best in me.” When asked about his future, he reiterated his long-standing desire for a unification bout, adding, “From now on, I want to be recognised and supported as Takuma Inoue, not just as Naoya Inoue’s younger brother.”
Inoue (30) improves to 22-2 (5 KOs). Ioka (37) moves to 32-5-1 (17 KOs).
