By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Unbeaten Naoya “Monster” Inoue (16-0, 14 KOs), 118, impressively captured the WBA bantamweight belt as he easily caught up with much taller defending champ Jamie McDonnell (29-3-1-1ND, 13 KOs), 117.5, dropped him twice and halted him at 1:52 of the opening session on Friday in Tokyo, Japan.
The 112-second destruction showcased Naoya’s pugnaciousness and power-punching, with which he so quickly decked McDonnell with a trademark left uppercut to the side of the belly. Though Jamie, making his seventh defense, very barely resumed fighting, Naoya, 25, swarmed over the fading champ, 32, with a flurry of punches and decked him again, when his chief second Dave Coldwell signaled a surrender and asked for a stoppage on the apron.
Referee Luis Pabon, from Puerto Rico, then had declared a halt to raise the newly crowned champion.
Inoue joyfully said in the ring, “I’ll participate in the World Boxing Super Series to face other world champions with pleasure.”
The crestfallen loser, who had been unbeaten for the last ten years, gloomily said, “I fought the strongest bantam on the planet. It wasn’t my night.”
The judges who didn’t score even a round were as follows: Oliver Brien (Germany), Ignacio Robles (Panama) and Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand).
Naoya, who gained three world belts in as many categories, followed the footsteps of Koki Kameda (108, 112, 118), Jorge Linares (126, 130, 135), Kazuto Ioka (105, 108, 112), Akira Yaegashi (105, 112, 108), and Hozumi Hasegawa (118, 126, 122). He acquired the 108-pound belt in his sixth pro bout, the 115-pound title in his eighth fight and this 118-pound diadem in his sixteenth outing.
Japan once had more than ten champs, but we see only seven world titleholders: Ryota Murata (WBA 160), Ryosuke Iwasa (IBF 122), Naoya Inoue (WBA 118), Sho Kimura (WBO 112), Ken Shiro (WBC 108), Hiroto Kyoguchi (IBF 105) and Ryuya Yamanaka (WBO 105).
For your reference with his forthcoming WBSS (World Boxing Super Series) participation, Naoya’s amateur mark was 75-6, 48 stoppages by winning seven amateur championships including a senior belt while he was still a high school student in 2011. Though Naoya eventually failed to participate in the Olympic Games in 2012, he was one of the candidates for Japanese representatives. While training for the box off, his roommate was no other than future Olympic gold medalist Ryota Murata, with whom Naoya is still very intimate.
It will be our fight fans’ pleasure that we may watch Naoya’s confrontations with Zolani Tete, Ryan Burnett or Emmanuel Rodriguez in the nearest future. Time will tell.
Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.
WBA supervisor: Renzo Bagnariol (Nicaragua).
Television: Fuji TV (Japan), ESPN+ (US) and Sky Sports (UK).
