The Monster Rises: Down in round one, Naoya Inoue gets up to flatten Luis Nery

Down goes Inoue!

Yep, it happened. When a fighter is as dominant as Naoya Inoue has been, you forget he’s human. 

It’s possible to hurt him. And knock him down.

Luis Nery floored Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) in the opening round of their fight. A sweeping left hook had done the trick.

The shock spread among the 55,000 fight fans at the Toyko Dome.

Other champions have hit the canvas. 

What they do after they get up separates the haves from the have-nots. 

Inoue did pretty well. Clear-eyed when he rose, he used his legs to stay out of danger. An uppercut stopped Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) in his tracks. 

Nery had won the first round big.

He won nothing else after that. Had the knockdown woken Inoue up? 

Inoue returned the favor by knocking Nery down with a counter left in round two. His speed advantage was obvious. The undisputed champion had found his rhythm.

He sent Nery to the canvas in round five with lead right hands (a southpaw’s kryptonite) and shots to the body and head. 

It was clinical. 

Inoue connected with two straight rights to end matters in round six. 

Inoue said, "I appreciate Nery. That’s why I shook hands with him after the fight. The knockdown motivated me. I am thankful to have fought against a great fighter in Nery."

The time was 1:22 of round six. 

Waking a sleeping monster is doubly dangerous.