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By: Sean Crose
IBF and WBA bantamweight titlist Naoya Inoue kept his record perfect on Tuesday by stopping Aran Dipaen in the eighth round of their scheduled 12 round affair at Tokyo’s Kokugikan Arena. Although he was widely expected to win, the 28 year old Inoue still put on a show that was guaranteed to please fans in his native Japan. Dipaen, 12-2, basically never stood a chance against the man ranked as a pound for pound best among many boxing analysts.
For the 22-0 Inoue was dominant from the opening bell, banging away at his man while also bloodying Dipaen’s nose. Dipaen was rocked several times, but to his credit didn’t go down until round eight. Although he bravely got back to his feet, the challenger then had to try to withstand Inoue’s onslaught of punches. He simply couldn’t do it. The referee wisely stopped the fight at 2:34 of the round. Inoue, who fights under the Top Rank banner, may now have a few big bouts available to him. A red hot Nonito Donaire would love for a rematch after their closely fought 2019 battle, and a match John Riel Casimero would be a bantamweight tile unifier.
