Japan’s ‘Monster’ Naoya Inoue defends WBA and IBF titles against Aran Dipaen in Tokyo
- The 28-year-old was made to work hard for his win over Dipaen, who absorbed a series of heavy body blows with little visible impact
- Inoue took his unbeaten record to 22-0, with 19 wins by knockout
Japan’s unbeaten “Monster” Naoya Inoue defended his WBA and IBF bantamweight titles on Tuesday with an eighth-round technical knockout win over Thai challenger Aran Dipaen in Tokyo.
Fighting at Ryogoku Kokugikan – the home of sumo – Inoue wore Dipaen down with a series of punishing shots before dispatching him with a vicious left hand.
The bout, Inoue’s first in Japan for around two years, was widely seen as a stepping stone towards an attempt at unifying all four bantamweight belts next year.
But the 28-year-old was made to work hard for his win over Dipaen, who absorbed a series of heavy body blows with little visible impact.
“He used to be a Muay Thai fighter and he brought that toughness,” Inoue said of Dipaen, who went into the fight with a 12-2 record.
“I started to wonder whether my punches were having an effect – that’s how tough he was.”