All photos by Ed Mulholland/HBO
On Saturday, September 9, 2017, Naoya Inoue (14-0, 12 KOs) made his long-awaited US debut at the hallowed StubHub Center in Carson, California against Antonio Nieves (17-2-2, 9 KOs) live on HBO.
Prior to the fight Inoue, who is nicknamed “The Monster,” spoke about his mindset going into the fight. “In the ring it’s all business, I’m there to knock the other guy out.”
This statement could not have foreshadowed how the fight would play out anymore.
Inoue dominated the fight from start to finish and controlled the fight behind a powerful, sharp jab on his way to a sixth-round TKO victory.
Inoue started the fight fast, using his crisp jab to move Nieves backward. In the second round Inoue started to invest to the body and badly wobbled Nieves with a straight right.
Had Inoue not mistaken the 10 second warning as the bell to end the round, he might have been able to follow up to drop Nieves. Inoue continued his dominance, landing in combination behind a varied offensive attack.
The only question at this point in the fight was whether Inoue would be able to knock Nieves out in spectacular fashion. Inoue dropped Nieves with a sharp left hook to the body in the fifth round.
Inoue drops Nieves in Round 5. #Boxing #SuperFly pic.twitter.com/AZfNncoLw8
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) September 10, 2017
In the sixth, Nieves spent the round trying to survive and at the end of the round Nieves’ corner mercifully stopped the fight.
Inoue announced his arrival behind an impressive sixth round TKO victory and the American public will definitely see more of him with the great future potential matchups in the Super Flyweight division.
