Takuma Inoue Takes Home A Unanimous Decision And The WBA Title
At stake was the WBA bantamweight title as Takuma Inoue (18-1, 4KO) battled Liborio Solis (35-1-1, 16KO) at the Ariake Arena in Koto-Ku, Japan.
The younger brother of three-division champion Naoya Inoue, this is Takuma’s second world title attempt. In November 2019, Takuma lost by unanimous decision to then-WBC 118-pound champion Nordine Oubaali. He was determined to not let this second opportunity slip by.
Inoue faced a Solis who defines a grizzled veteran. At age 41, he has collected laps around the block during his boxing career, having been in the ring with former world champions Shinsuke Yamanaka, Jamie McDonnell, and Guillermo Rigondeaux. Solis previously held the WBA bantamweight strap and wanted to become a two-time world champion.
FINDING HIS GROOVE
From the opening bell, Solis was on the attack. He was excellently using the jab and taking the fight to Inoue during the first four rounds. Inoue seemed nervous during the early rounds and had difficulty letting his punches go. Towards the end of the fifth, an accidental left elbow from Solis caused a cut over the right eye of Inoue.
It was at this moment that the Japanese contender began to fight harder. He found a home for the jab as well as a few counter right hands. However, Solis kept coming forward behind the jab to make his opponent as uncomfortable as possible.
Over the second half of the contest, Inoue began to set the tempo by fighting more in the center of the ring. He used his quicker hands and feet to land with counter right hands and short combinations. As Solis began to slow down, Inoue increased his work rate and was dominant in the championship rounds.
The judges rewarded Inoue’s strong finish and scored the fight in his favor by a unanimous decision (116-112,117-111, 118-110). Afterward, the newly crowned champion said he was ecstatic to win a world championship. During the post-fight interview, he said his goal is to follow his older brother’s footsteps and become the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world
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