'THE MONSTER' PREVAILS OVER THE 'FILIPINO FLASH' IN JAPAN, WINS WBSS FINALS
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 07 Nov 2019
In a riveting and thrilling fight of the year candidate championship bout, the 'Monster' prevailed over the 'Filipino Flash' in Saitama, Japan Thursday night as the power puncher Naoya Inoue dropped Nonito Donaire Jnr in the 11th round en route to a unanimous decision victory and became the WBSS champion as well as IBF/WBA unified bantamweight world champion.
Inoue, 26, ten years younger than Donaire, not only showed his youth advantage, but his speed and power as well as he beat Donaire to the punch up until the eighth round when Donaire rallied by connecting with several hard rights to the head of Inoue that put the Japanese in grave danger. In the 9th round Donaire connected with another right that staggered Inoue with blood pouring from his right eyebrow and nose that put Donaire in control of the fight.
In the 10th round however, Inoue dug deep and came back strong to turn the fight around. In the 11th, Inoue connected with a vicious body shot that put down Donaire to his knees grimacing in total pain. Donaire however showed a lot of hearrt by standing up and continue to fight. In the last round, Donaire seemed to be too weak to mount a last ditch rally as Inoue continued to connect with hard shots though Donaire survived the round.
Inoue won with scores of 116-111, 117-109, 114-113 and remained undefeated at 19-0-0 with 16 knockouts. Donaire (40-6-0, 26KOs) at 36, showed he still has the grit and intelligence to face one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 20 OCTOBER 2025: Danny Garcia KOs Daniel Gonzalez; Juarez Defeats Nery; Bormann Unifies Belt vs Kuroki
By Eric Armit, Tue, 21 Oct 2025"Round of the Year" Candidate Unfolds in Explosive Clash Between Undefeated Prospect Sebastian Juarez and Veteran Demarcus Layton
Tue, 21 Oct 2025IIEE PSME Quezon City Simba's Tribe wins 4 straight in PCAP Tourney
By Marlon Bernardino, Tue, 21 Oct 2025GREEN TAM, RINGO LAM, HARPREET SINGH SCORE CRUSHING TKO WINS MONDAY IN THAILAND
By Carlos Costa, Tue, 21 Oct 2025Irish middleweight Jim Donovan Registers sensational KO in his Pro debut at home in Ireland
Tue, 21 Oct 2025Kell Brook to return in February
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Mon, 20 Oct 2025EFREN REYES AND FRANCISCO BUSTAMANTE HEADLINE HISTORIC FIELD AS PHILIPPINES OPEN DRAW REVEALED
Mon, 20 Oct 2025North Cotabato karatekas ready in BP 2025
By Lito delos Reyes, Mon, 20 Oct 2025Fundora vs. Thurman Expected to Land on Manny Pacquiao's January Undercard
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 20 Oct 2025Hong Kong’s “Tyson” Ng and Harpreet Singh of India Ready to Rock for WBC Asia Strap
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 20 Oct 2025TEAM ASIA CONQUER THE WORLD TO COMPLETE HISTORIC REYES CUP TITLE DEFENCE
Mon, 20 Oct 2025Jodiel Chloe Banawa: A 5-Year-Old Chess Prodigy Making Her Mark at the Provincial Meet
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 20 Oct 2025GM Joey is aiming for a world title shot
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 19 Oct 2025Patrick Bonifacio rules Directors Chess Cup
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 19 Oct 2025World Boxing Announces Elite Division World Rankings
Sun, 19 Oct 2025