Japan’s Naoya Inoue (R) fights against Philippines’ Nonito Donaire during their Bantamweight unification boxing match at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama on June 7, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
Naoya Inoue vowed to take out Nonito Donaire and he wasted no time in fulfilling his promise.
In a stark contrast to their 2019 slugfest, Inoue finished Donaire inside two rounds to add the World Boxing Council bantamweight title to his collection on Tuesday night before a hometown crowd at Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Inoue (23-0, 20KOs) decked Donaire with a quick right hand just before the first round ended before sending “The Filipino Flash” down again in the second round with a flurry to close out their unification rematch. The official time of the stoppage was 1:24.
The 29-year-old Inoue easily defended his World Boxing Association (Super) and International Boxing Federation belts and now seeks to become an undisputed champion before moving up to 122 pounds. Paul Butler holds the World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight crown after beating Filipino Jonas Sultan last April.
Butler was elevated from interim to full champion last month when the WBO stripped John Riel Casimero of the full title.
Donaire had been on a resurgence since losing a close unanimous decision to Inoue in their first encounter with a pair of fourth-round knockouts against Nordine Oubaali and fellow Filipino Reymart Gaballo in his last two bouts. INQ
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