Pound-for-pound sensation Nawa Inou stopped Nanito Donier in the middle of the second round, firmly winning their rematch and consolidating three Bantamweight world titles.
Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs) wasted no time in his second meeting with Donner, knocking out the experienced champion at the end of the first round and again in the middle of the second round. Inoma’s relentless pressure and energy fight ends at 1:24 at the Saitama Super Arena outside Tokyo.
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“In order to be able to rise to the top of my status, I have to win this fight, so I have decided to end this fight right now,” Ino said through a translator. “I pushed myself, and I did it.”
Inoue added Donner’s WBC belt to his own WBA and IBF 118-pound straps with his fourth consecutive stoppage win.
The Japanese star, known as “Monster”, is considered the world’s top pound-for-pound genius. Inoi hopes to combine four major bantamweight titles if he can compete with England’s WBO bantamweight champion Paul Butler later this year.
“My goal is to be the undisputed champion,” Ino said. “If I could do that by 2022, I would love to be in this department. But if I can’t, I’m able (to gain weight).
Donier (42-7) re-entered his rematch with Inoy, apparently confident about his ability to trade fists at the center of the ring with the Japanese champion, but Inoy suddenly knocked Donier off with a right hook just moments before the bell rang to end the first round. Donier climbed comfortably, but Ino was under pressure in the second round and unloaded Donier with another series of accurate shots.
“In the first round, I got the left hook from Nonito, and that punch woke me up and focused me on this fight,” Ino said.
After placing Donier with a small left-handed donor foot in the middle of the ring at the beginning of the second round, Inoi ends him in the corner with a right-left combination that throws Donier on the canvas behind him. Donier lost the count, but the referee stopped the bout and did not protest much.
Donner, who will turn 40 later this year, was only stopped for a second time in his career. He claimed the WBC Bantamweight title with a win over Nordin Obali a year ago.
Inoue and Donaire first met in November 2019 at the World Boxing Super Series Bantamweight Final in the same arena. Donner surprised many in the boxing world with his strong performance against his small, favorite opponent.
Inoue later revealed that his orbital bone was broken by Donaire’s left hook in the second round, and he fought through a unanimous decision to knock Donaire out in the 11th round, cutting through the first face of his career.
In the rematch, Inoue wasted no time or energy in finishing his Filipino-American opponent. Donier has won four world titles in his 21-year professional career, with Ino becoming the world champion in three weight classes.
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