TOKYO – Naoya Inoue survived a scare and a first-round knockdown on Monday to drop Mexican challenger Luis Nery three times on his way to a spectacular sixth-round knockout.

Inoue was dropped by a wide southpaw left hook in the first and then floored Nery with a wondrous counter left hook in the second. 

A further stunning left hook put Nery over again in the fifth, and in the sixth and decisive round, a huge straight right put Nery dramatically down and out at the 1:22 stage for Inoue to retain his unified junior featherweight crowns in front of a packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome.

More to follow ...