Author: Anton Tabuena

Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire fought for the second time, and it didn’t look the same.

Tuesday night at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire ran in back. The 29-year-old Japanese knockout artist and the Filipino future Hall of Famer fought for the second time, unifying the WBC, WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine bantamweight titles.

Their first contest captivated audiences and was the 2019 Fight of the Year. Inoue ended up winning a back-and-forth war, and it was one of the rare times “The Monster” was pushed up until the final bell.

This second bout started as wild as the first, with both men throwing bombs from the opening round. After trading hard shots, Inoue dropped Donaire at the end of the very first round.

They traded bombs again to start the second, and while Donaire showed heart, Inoue’s power and precision punching overwhelmed him. Inoue hurt him on multiple occasions, and while he tried to survive, he eventually got dropped and the referee put the halt in the action to call the fight.

Donaire, 39, came into the contest as the oldest to win a bantamweight world title. He still looked sharp at that age, but The Monster’s nickname and top pound for pound status is warranted and he will be now going home with three of the four major bantamweight titles.

Official result: Naoya Inoue def. Nonito Donaire by TKO, 1:24 of Round 2

Watch some highlight videos from Inoue vs Donaire 2 below:

Keep up with all the Inoue vs Donaire results.

Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire will rematch Tuesday night in Japan, and early morning in the US and a lot of areas. Their first bout was the 2019 fight of the year, and proved to be an instant classic that Inoue ended up winning.

On the line are Donaire’s WBC title, and Inoue’s WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine bantamweight belts. For a preview of the main event, you can read it here.

The main event should start around 7:30 a.m. ET, but the card is already live right now. You can join us live and keep up with the action and all the results below.

Full results and video:

Naoya Inoue def. Nonito Donaire by TKO, 1:24 of Round 2

Andy Hiraoka def. Shun Akaiwa by TKO, R6

Takuma Inoue def. Gakuya Furuhashi by unanimous decision

Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire have both made weight.

Nonito Donaire and Naoya Inoue have both made weight, making their highly anticipated rematch on Tuesday official.

The Filipino four-division champion in Donaire came in at 53.4 kg (117.7 lbs), while Japanese knockout artist Inoue weighed right at the bantamweight limit of 53.5 kg (117.9 lbs). Donaire’s WBC title, and Inoue’s WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine belts will all be on the line in this title unification at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The weigh-in and pre-fight medicals were streamed by Donaire’s camp:

The pair first fought in what was awarded as the 2019 Fight of the Year. After a back-and-forth war, Inoue ended up with a unanimous decision victory, which is one of the rare occasions that “The Monster” went the distance in his career.

Since that first bout, Inoue has won three straight bouts, all by stoppage again. Donaire, on the other hand, has won two straight bouts by knockout, as he won and defended the WBC bantamweight title in 2021.

The 29-year-old Inoue is unbeaten in 22 fights and is ranked among boxing’s top pound-for-pound. The future Hall of Famer in Donaire is already 39, and has set the record for being the oldest fighter to win a bantamweight title.

Watch the Fight of the Year between Nonito Donaire and Naoya Inoue.

Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire put on what Ring Magazine and other outlets awarded as fight of the year in 2019, after a back and forth war that captivated audiences. The knockout artist in Inoue ended up with a unanimous decision victory, which is one of the rare occasions that “The Monster” went the distance in his career.

Ahead of their rematch on Tuesday, you can get hyped and relive the action from their instant classic from 2019. Watch the full video of their first meeting on the embed above.

Since that first bout, Inoue has won three straight bouts, all by stoppage again as he kept his WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine titles. Donaire, on the other hand, has won two straight bouts by knockout, as he won and defended the WBC bantamweight title in 2021.

The 29-year-old Inoue is unbeaten in 22 fights. The future Hall of Famer in Donaire is already 39, and has set the record for being the oldest fighter to win a bantamweight title.

Watch video from the title unification bout between George Kambosos Jr. vs Devin Haney.

We finally have an undisputed lightweight champion in boxing.

Saturday night Georges Kambosos Jr. took on Devin Haney in his home country of Australia to unify the belts at 135 lbs. The American in Haney came in with the WBC title, while the Australian brought the WBA, IBF, WBO, and The Ring titles. Only one man kept their unbeaten record and came out with all of those belts. After a slick and technical performance, that was the 23-year-old prodigy in Haney.

Haney controlled the action for most of the contest, leading with his beautiful jab and completely disrupting Kambosos’ game. He controlled distance and kept the hometown fighter at bay, silencing the crowd and ending up with a quality decision win. Still incredibly young at just 23-years-old, Haney impressively took all the lightweight belts and remained undefeated in 28 fights.

Haney managed to shut down Kambosos’ offense completely, with the Australian throwing and landing significantly less punches throughout the 12 rounds.

Watch videos from the title fight below, along with a snippet from our play-by-play of the contest:

Round 11 – Clubbing right by Kambosos can’t connect cleanly. Jab by Haney and yet again. The holding has resumed. Haney with two jabs. Oh another jab by Haney and then he dodges a Kambosos power shot. Left hook and a right hand by Haney. Total clowning. Straight right by Haney and then a counter right as Kambosos lunged. Crowd can boo all they want, their guy is getting beaten. 108-102 Haney.

Round 12 – Kambosos obviously needs a KO and he’s just not letting his hands go enough. This is a far cry from the Teofimo Lopez fight. And then he fires a hopeless hook and gets caught out of position. Sweeping hook from Haney and then he keeps Kambosos at the end of that jab. Short left by Haney and then a tie-up. One minute left until Devin Haney is the undisputed lightweight champion. Good right by Kambosos. Uppercut by Kambosos. Haney kinda running out the clock.117-111 Haney.

Official result: Devin Haney defeats George Kambosos Jr. by unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 118-110)

The wrestling superstar showed off his striking.

Decorated wrestling champ Bo Nickal won his professional MMA debut on Friday night. Interestingly enough, he didn’t even need to use that vaunted grappling skills, as the 26-year-old showcased his striking and won with a brutal KO in under a minute.

Nickal, a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion and 2019 US Open champion, has been working with American Top Team to hone his MMA game and it seems to be paying off.

After going 2-0 in 2021 as an amateur, Nickal had his professional MMA fight against fellow debutant John Noland at iKON FC 3. Fighting as a middleweight, Nickal dropped Noland with a left straight just thirty seconds in, and followed up with a combination that put him out completely shortly after.

Watch the brutal finish below:

In 2019 alone, Nickal won his third NCAA Division I title, his third Big Ten Championship, along with taking gold at the US National Championships and the U-23 World Championships. He competed from 197 to 213 lbs as a wrestler, but competed both as an amateur and a professional in MMA at 185 lbs.