Undisputed world super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘’Monster’’ Inoue of Ohashi Boxing Gym, overcoming the opening-round knockdown, stopped the World Boxing Council’s top-ranked super bantamweight Luis Nery of Mexico in the sixth round to retain his titles at Tokyo Dome on May 6.

The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder before some 40,000 fans at the dome came 1 minute and 22 seconds into the round when the 31-year-old Inoue sent his 29-year-old opponent down into the ropes by landing a hard straight right to the head, and the referee called off the fight without bothering to the count.

It was Inoue’s second defense of the titles of both the WBC and the World Boxing Organization and his first of the World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Federation.

Inoue was floored in the first round with the left-handed Nery’s overhand left hook to the head, his first knockdown in his professional career, although Inoue stood up and took a mandatory eight count calmly.

In the second round, Inoue dropped Nery with a left hook to the head. Nery, nicknamed Pantera (panther), stood up quickly to beat the referee’s count and resumed fighting.

Inoue fended off Nery’s attack in the third and fourth rounds while landing straight rights to the head and body.

In the fifth round, Inoue connected with a short but crisp left hook to the head, sending Nery to the canvas. But the tenacious Mexican struggled to his feet at the count of nine, which set the stage for Inoue’s devastating TKO win in the following round.

After the fight, Inoue said from the ring, ‘’I was excited and was able to take care of my (first) knockdown calmly thanks to my usual image training. Though I suffered a knockdown, it was good experience once in a while.’’

With the victory, Inoue extended his unbeaten streak to 27, including 24 KOs. For his part, Nery, a former two-weight world champion, fell to a 35-2 win-loss tally with 27 KOs.

When IBF’s top-ranked super bantamweight Sam Goodman of Australia suddenly climbed through the ropes, Inoue said, ‘’I want to defend my title against Mr. Goodman around this September.’’

A lot of attention was focused on the Inoue-Nery fight as Nery previously failed to meet his weight limit in his challenge to then WBC bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka of Teiken Boxing Gym for the latter’s title in March 2018. Though Nery stopped Yamanaka in the second round, the title was left vacant in accordance with relevant regulations.

It was the first time that a boxing event had been held at the dome since the world heavyweight championship fight between Mike Tyson and James ‘’Buster’’ Douglas, both of the United States, in February 1990.