Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire faced off again Tuesday night in Japan, in a rematch of the 2019 Fight of the Year.
Their first meeting in 2019 was a back-and-forth war, with Inoue taking a unanimous decision victory, in one of the rare occasions that “The Monster” went the distance in his career.
Inoue didn’t allow that to happen again, and this second affair was very different.
Like the first fight, both still threw and took bombs in a wild start, but Inoue got a quick finish this time around. Inoue knocked Donaire down at the end of the first round, and while the Filipino showed heart, he was dropped again in the second round which prompted the referee to step in and call it.
Donaire’s WBC title, and Inoue’s WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine belts were all on the line on this second meeting, with Inoue now going home with all but one of the major bantamweight titles.
Watch videos of the match below:
What an entrance for @naoyainoue_410 #InoueDonaire2 pic.twitter.com/ECX5bAPJW4
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) June 7, 2022
Out for redemption @FilipinoFlash | #InoueDonaire2 pic.twitter.com/DU8V7VmWVh
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 7, 2022
DOWN GOES DONAIRE IN R1 @NaoyaInoue_410 x #InoueDonaire2 pic.twitter.com/MMnhOvub4w
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 7, 2022
MONSTROUS DESTRUCTION @NaoyaInoue_410 | #InoueDonaire2 | #DramaInSaitama2 pic.twitter.com/S7PCACgDEM
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 7, 2022
The MONSTER wasted no time @naoyainoue_410 knocked out Nonito Donaire in two rounds. #InoueDonaire2 pic.twitter.com/WmMxwcWRib
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) June 7, 2022
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