Photo Credit: KYODO
TOKYO, JAPAN — Naoya Inoue lived up to his “Monster” nickname by dropping Kohei Kono with a counter left hook and scoring a dominant sixth round TKO earlier today.
In the opening rounds, Inoue jumped out to a quick lead by abusing Kono with vicious body shots. Kono found his own success on the inside with short hooks. But by the four and fifth rounds, the trench warfare became perilous for Kono due to the champion’s uppercuts.
Kono pressed his attack early in the sixth and was promptly floored by a counter left hook. Kono beat the count, but was felled for the second and final time by a barrage of power shots.
The win marks Inoue’s fourth successful defense of the WBO super flyweight title. Fans are now anticipating the potential 2017 unification and superfight with WBC title-holder Roman Gonzalez.
