Naoya Inoue beats Junto Nakatani to retain undisputed super bantamweight boxing title
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Naoya Inoue (left) fighting Junto Nakatani during their super bantamweight boxing bout at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on May 2.
PHOTO: AFP
May 3 - Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed super bantamweight world title with a unanimous decision victory over compatriot Junto Nakatani after a gripping 12-round contest in Tokyo on Saturday.
The 33-year-old, famously known as 'The Monster', extended his winning streak in world title bouts to 28 as judges scored the fight 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112 in his favour.
Both boxers entered the bout unbeaten at 32-0 in a contest which was billed as the biggest boxing match in Japanese history after Nakatani moved up a division late last year.
Inoue charged early before Nakatani appeared to close the gap in the latter half of the fight as the pace intensified, but a clash of heads late in the 10th round opened a cut above the challenger's eye and stalled his momentum.
"Today I executed the plan that I'd been saying before the fight, to stay focused on winning, to make sure I was the one who came out as the winner," Inoue said.
"As you all know, Nakatani is a mentally strong boxer. The fact that he is in the (top 10) pound-for-pound rankings makes this win worthwhile."
The win improved Inoue's overall record to 33 victories, with 27 knockouts. REUTERS
