WBO World super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue (14-0, 12 KOs) put on a body punching clinic in stopping #7 Antonio Nieves (17-2-2, 9 KOs) in a 6th round on Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
The fight was halted by Nieves’ corner after round 6. He had taken too much punishment. Inoue, 24, dropped Nieves with a hard body shot in round 5. He continued to nail Nieves with body shots for the remainder of the round.
Nieves was on his bike, practically running from Inoue after the knockdown. Inoue stopped following him a one point and put his hands out to his sides in frustration. Nieves didn’t have the offensive fire power to stand and trade with the bigger punching Inoue.
This was a voluntary defense for Inoue. Nieves had lost his last fight, and he clearly didn’t deserve a world title shot.
The fight was televised on HBO Championship Boxing.
