Naoya Inoue only needed two rounds to defeat Nonito Donaire in an emphatic showing in the pair’s rematch and to unify three bantamweight world titles.
In a hotly anticipated rematch, Inoue (now 23-0, 20 KOs) wasted no time in knocking down the veteran champion at the end of the first round and again midway through the second.
His relentless pressure and power forced a stop to the fight at 1:24 of the second round in Saitama Super Arena outside Tokyo.
With his fourth consecutive stoppage win, Inoue added Donaire’s WBC belt to his own WBA and IBF 118-pound titles.
“Monster” as he is commonly known is considered one of the world’s top pound-for-pound talents.
Naoya Inoue is now hoping to unify all four major bantamweight titles if he can land a fight with WBO bantamweight champ Paul Butler of England later this year.
“My aim is to be the undisputed champion,” Inoue said. “If I can do that within 2022, I would love to stay in this division. But if I can’t, I’m capable of (moving up in weight).”
Donaire (42-7) entered his rematch with sky-high confidence after going the distance last time.
Inoue abruptly dropped Donaire with a short right hook moments before the bell to end the first round. Donaire got up comfortably, but the Japanese piled on the pressure in the second round.
A short left put Donaire on wobbly legs in the center of the ring early in the second round giving Inoue an invitation to finish him in the corner with a right-left combination that dropped Donaire to his back on the canvas.
Despite beating the count Donaire did not protest when the referee stopped the bout.
This was only his second stoppage of a storied career.
Inoue and Donaire first met in November 2019 in the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight final where Donaire surprised much of the boxing world with his tenacious performance against his younger, favored opponent.
Inoue later revealed his orbital bone had been broken by Donaire’s left hook in the second round, and he fought through the first facial cut of his career to knock down Donaire in the 11th round on his way to a victory by unanimous decision.
