Naoya Inoue vs Antonio Nieves

Up-and-coming Japanese superstar, Naoya Inoue retained his WBO super-flyweight championship when Antonio Nieves was withdrawn by his corner after six rounds at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, on September 9, 2017. The official time was 3 minutes of the sixth round. The contest was part of the “SuperFly” promotion, headlined by the return of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Roman Gonzalez, and marked Inoue’s first appearance in the United States. A sell-out crowd of 7,418 attended the programme. Inoue weighed 115 pounds and Nieves 113¾. Lou Moret was the referee.

At 24, Inoue was already a champion in two divisions and had won nine world-title contests, eight of them inside the distance. He entered unbeaten in 13 professional appearances and was making the sixth defence of the WBO title he had won from Omar Narvaez in December 2014. Nieves, a 30-year-old from Cleveland, had a record of 17 wins, one defeat and two draws. This was his first challenge for a world championship and his first contest at the super-flyweight limit, having previously competed principally at bantamweight. He had never before been stopped.

Inoue began methodically, using a quick, firm jab rather than immediately seeking the knockout. He moved Nieves backwards and followed the lead with left hooks to the body and sweeping rights to the head. Nieves attempted to answer with his own jab and managed several counters, but his punches did not disturb the champion. Inoue stayed balanced after every attack and stepped forward again before Nieves could establish his position. The difference in speed was apparent from the opening round, and the champion’s body punching soon became the central feature of the contest.

The second was more damaging. Inoue continued to control the distance with the jab and brought his right hand over Nieves’s guard. The challenger had occasional success with straight punches and brief combinations, but he was unable to hold his ground when Inoue answered. Near the end of the round, a hard left hook struck Nieves in the body and caused him to retreat in pain. Inoue followed with two blows to the head which badly staggered the American. The champion then appeared to mistake the timekeeper’s signal or crowd noise for the bell and turned away before the round had ended, allowing Nieves to recover without facing a final attack.

By the third, Nieves was fighting mostly on the retreat. Inoue followed without hurrying, directing the jab towards the head and chest before adding long right hands and further left hooks beneath the elbows. Nieves occasionally stopped to throw, but sustained exchanges were plainly against his interest. The challenger possessed sufficient movement to avoid some of the champion’s heavier work, yet he could do little to alter the direction of the fight. Inoue dictated where the exchanges took place and struck with considerably greater force.

The fourth was quieter. Inoue reduced his output, moved lightly and prodded with the jab while Nieves enjoyed his best spell of the contest. The challenger came forward more readily and was allowed greater room to work, although he still failed to land anything capable of changing Inoue’s approach. During the final 30 seconds, the champion increased his pace and drove Nieves backwards with another attack to head and body. Even at the reduced tempo, Inoue had done enough to remain in control.

Inoue returned to serious work in the fifth. He stalked Nieves around the ring and drove hooks from both hands into the ribs. The challenger was by then concentrating almost entirely upon survival, keeping his elbows close and moving away whenever Inoue entered punching distance. A long left hook landed cleanly beneath the right elbow and dropped Nieves to his knees. The challenger remained there in evident pain before rising at eight. Inoue pursued him after the count and repeatedly returned to the same target. Nieves stayed on his feet and reached the bell, but every further body punch caused a visible reaction.

A right to the ribs hurt Nieves again early in the sixth. He then spent much of the round circling and retreating, unwilling to remain within range of Inoue’s hooks. The champion grew frustrated by his opponent’s refusal to engage. On two occasions he lowered his hands, stood in the centre of the ring and gestured for Nieves to come forward. The crowd initially responded to the display but later showed scattered disapproval as the gap between the fighters became increasingly uncomfortable. Inoue resumed his attack, continuing to land hard blows to the body while Nieves moved, held and attempted to complete the round.

Nieves reached the bell, but his corner informed Moret that he would not be sent out for the seventh. The decision was reasonable. The challenger had been dropped, was being repeatedly hurt to the body and offered no practical route back into the contest. There had been no fouls or cuts, and no further knockdown was required to establish the champion’s superiority. Inoue had landed 118 of 407 punches, while Nieves connected with 45 of 209. The figures reflected the champion’s greater activity, but not fully the difference in force between their blows.

The victory advanced Inoue’s record to 14–0 with 12 stoppages. Nieves fell to 17–2–2 and suffered the first inside-the-distance defeat of his career. The challenger had shown sufficient resolve to rise from the fifth-round knockdown and complete another session, but he had been overmatched in speed, accuracy and punching strength. Inoue’s American debut therefore ended without serious resistance, yet it clearly demonstrated his principal qualities: a controlling jab, balanced footwork, and unusually severe body punching. His performance established him before an American audience as one of the leading men in a strong super-flyweight division.

This was Inoue’s first fight in America, and he couldn’t have made the difference in levels any clearer. Nieves was a respectable professional, but he had no business challenging a puncher of this quality at super-flyweight.

What impressed me wasn’t merely Inoue’s power. It was how he created the openings. The jab fixed Nieves in position, the right hand lifted his guard, then the left hook went underneath. That’s world-class body punching: set it up, turn the hip and drive through the target.

By the fifth, Nieves was in survival mode. The left hook that dropped him was perfectly delivered, and every body shot afterwards made him wince. Inoue became frustrated when Nieves kept retreating, but I don’t blame the challenger for avoiding exchanges. Standing his ground would have ended matters sooner.

His corner made the correct decision after six. Inoue had completely broken his resistance and announced himself to the American audience as a serious world-class fighter.