Boxing News: Nery Challenges Pound-for-Pound King Inoue for Undisputed Junior Featherweight Title
EL PASO, Texas (April 23, 2024) — Mexican former two-division world champion Luis Nery is aware that the odds are stacked against him, but a major upset in Tokyo wouldn’t be the first of its kind. Nery will challenge pound-for-pound king Naoya “Monster” Inoue for the undisputed junior featherweight world championship on Monday, May 6 at the Tokyo Dome.
This will be the first boxing event at “The Big Egg” since February 1990, when James “Buster” Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the 10th round to capture the undisputed heavyweight crown in one of the sport’s biggest upsets. Inoue-Nery and three additional world title showdowns will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT.
Nery’s Journey to the Title Shot
Nery (35-1, 27 KOs) captured the WBC bantamweight world title by beating Shinsuke Yamanaka in August 2017, but lost it the following year after failing to make weight for their rematch. He moved up to junior featherweight, where he earned the WBC strap against Aaron Alameda in September 2020. The 29-year-old suffered his first loss in a unification showdown against WBA champ Brandon Figueroa in May 2021. Since that defeat, Nery has gone 4-0 with three knockouts, including a dramatic 11th-round stoppage of Azat Hovhannisyan last February in a Fight of the Year contender.
Inoue’s Dominance and Nery’s Confidence
Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs), a four-division world champion, looks to defend his undisputed crown after last year’s demolitions of unified world champions Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales. Following a recent training session in El Paso, Texas, Nery expressed his confidence in pulling off the upset:
“This is the highest stage one can reach as a fighter. I’m the only one who can beat Inoue because I have good power, I can take punches, I have heart, and I’m willing to die in the ring. I will win by knockout. There’s no other way.”
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