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MANILA, Philippines – Even Nonito Donaire got swayed that Naoya Inoue is indeed a monster in the ring.
Living up to his “Monster” moniker, the Japanese vanquished erstwhile unbeaten Emmanuel Rodriguez in just two rounds in their World Boxing Super Series semifinal at SSE Hydra in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday, May 18 (Sunday, May 19, Philippine time).
In claiming his 16th knockout victim in 18 straight wins, Inoue forged a final duel with Donaire, dubbed as “The Filipino Flash,” who was at ringside, later this year.
Wielding power in both hands, Inoue knocked down Rodriguez thrice in the fateful round to force the referee to call it a halt at the 1 minute and 19 seconds mark.
Inoue dropped the Puerto Rican with a left hook to the head, followed it up later with a body shot, then sealed his 8th consecutive KO win with a flurry of punches.
Fact is, the 26-year-old pride of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, needed only a total of 4 rounds to dispose of his last 3 opponents.
The 5-foot-5 Inoue, a 3-division world champion, stopped the United Kingdom’s Jamie McDomel in the first round and did the same to Dominican Republic’s Juan Carlos Payano.
“He (Inoue) was incredible, he did what he had to do,” Donaire told skysports.com. “This is what we’ve been waiting for. We’ve always felt we were going to meet each other, it’s destiny. This is what boxing is about, the best fighting the best. He’s the monster and that’s something to figure out.”
Battle scarred at 36, Donaire (40-5, 26 KOs) is a 4-division world champion who’s no stranger to fighting monsters like Inoue.
Remember, Donaire knocked out Armenian Vic Darchinyan with one punch in the 5th round in 2007. Darchinyan was perceived to be invincible at that time, with 28 straight wins, 22 by knockouts. – Rappler.com
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