Inoue vs Nery: Japanese champ defends super bantamweight titles in Tokyo

Naoya Inoue survives a first-round knockdown to knock out challenger Luis Nery in the sixth round in front of 45,000 fans.

Japan’s undisputed super bantamweight world champion, Naoya Inoue, has survived an early scare to stop Mexico’s Luis Nery in the sixth round at the Tokyo Dome and defend his titles.

Fans at the famous venue, which seats more than 45,000 people, were stunned on Monday when Nery floored the unbeaten “Monster” in the first round with a huge left.

But Inoue got up and knocked his Mexican opponent down in the following round and sent him to the canvas again in the fifth before finishing him off with a right hook in the sixth.

“It was a great feeling to knock him down, but how about that surprise in the first round?” the 31-year-old Inoue asked.

“As a boxer, when that happens to you, it fires you up. It gave me a lot of energy.”