Takuma Inoue Gets Decision Win Over a Resilent Sho Ishida
It was an all-Japanese battle at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan as Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) put the WBA bantamweight strap on the line against mandatory challenger Sho Ishida (34-4, 17 KOs).
Inoue entered this contest riding a wave of confidence and predicted a knockout during the pre-fight news events. The 28-year-old is coming off an impressive ninth-round stoppage over former long-reigning IBF junior bantamweight champion Jerwin Ancajas on February 24.
He faced Ishida, a solid veteran and a former world title challenger at 115. The 31-year-old had won his previous five fights and believed he would achieve his lifelong dream of winning a world title.
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
Things got off to a rocky start for the Inoue. With a minute to go in the opening round, Ishida knocked him down with a perfectly timed left jab. It was a moment that seemed to wake up the defending champion.
Following that brief scare, Inoue put his foot on the gas and fought with real purpose. The WBA champion began to work his way inside and landed with solid combinations against the taller and longer challenger. The uppercut was a key punch for Inoue. By the middle rounds, the defending champion had found his groove as Ishida was bleeding from the nose.
Ishida’s best asset is arguably his left jab. But Inoue neutralized that punch as he dominated the action in the second half of the contest. The challenger stayed resilient throughout. But in the end, Inoue won this fight going away as the judges scored the fight in his favor by unanimous decision (118-109, 118-109, 116-111). With the victory, Inoue continues on the path toward becoming a unified champion at 118.
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