MONSTER MASH
INOUE DESTROYS MCDONNELL IN TOKYO
THE brilliant “Monster” Naoya Inoue of Japan savaged Doncaster’s
Jamie Mcdonnell
at Ota-city General Gymnasium in Tokyo inside three minutes to claim the secondary WBA bantamweight belt. To be clear, Ryan Burnett holds the only WBA 118lbs title which should be recognised as a genuine championship,
but Inoue may now be the best of them all.
His superiority was the clear from the moment he landed his first punch, a looping left hand sent the Englishman backwards before a sapping blow to the body put him down. Up at eight, Mcdonnell was quickly under fire again, and as he tumbled down, senses scrambled, referee Luis Pabon made exactly the right call to end the bout at 1-52.
Inoue said afterwards he will join the exceptionally appealing World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament alongside Burnett, Zolani
Tete and Emmanuel Rodriguez who were already confirmed. For 32-year-old Mcdonnell, who looked gaunt and drawn at the weighin before putting on a reported 26 pounds ahead of the fight, he has no option but to rise in weight, with featherweight mentioned as the destination. Whether he should have gone ahead with this bout is up for debate because at no point during Fight Week did he look like a man who believed in himself. It’s true he was convinced of his chances when signing for this contest yet the task ahead only became more and more difficult as the bout drew close.
Still he hoped against hope to defy the odds and extend an unbeaten record that stretched for 10 years, but Naoya – with a display of astonishing power, speed and accuracy – was in a class of his own.
Mcdonnell was in the fight for approximately 30 seconds, as he attempted to score with his jab. But Inoue’s left hook to the head signalled an early finish was nigh. Inoue, 25, had been
told by his father and trainer to hold back in the first round, yet he rebelled against the advice to glorious effect. It was clear from the day before that Inoue – who was kept waiting in the ring for 10 minutes before Mcdonnell arrived – wanted to inflict damage.
The mood from the Inoue camp towards their opponent’s camp had soured after the weigh-in. Mcdonnell had arrived over an hour late, a move that Inoue had interpreted as being highly disrespectful yet, with hindsight, it’s clear the champion was having issues making weight. After they hit the scales, Mcdonnell’s promoter Eddie Hearn told the Japanese media that it was common for people to be late in the UK. Inoue didn’t buy that one bit. When he was asked what he made of it, he said what can be translated as “He is taking the p**s,” before adding that he didn’t like the attitude of Jamie’s team when they arrived.
It is very untypical in Japan for a fighter’s team to be vocal during an official proceeding such as a
‘WHAT INOUE SAID COULD BE TRANSLATED AS, ‘MCDONNELL IS TAKING THE P**S’
weigh-in, a stark contrast to what we see in the UK and US where both sides tend to cheer or on occasion, hurl abuse at the other opponent. I can vouch for the Mcdonnell team that although they were indeed vocal, none of the volume was directed in a negative way towards
Naoya, they were there in support for their man. Any animosity that brewed here can only really be put down to a difference between cultures.
When asked about team Mcdonnell’s astonishing weight gain before the fight, Naoya’s assessment was an accurate one:
“That can only have a negative effect on your body.”
While Mcdonnell’s condition played its part in the quick finish, this bout was defined by Inoue’s exemplary performance.
There was another destruction job on the undercard as the improving
Ken Shiro, 26, retained his WBC superflyweight strap when he halted old foe
Ganigan Lopez, 36, at 1-58 of round two. The pair met a year ago when Shiro took the title via a close and contentious points decision over 12 rounds but there was no controversy here.
Shiro scored regularly in the first session, a right hand seemed to wobble the Mexican veteran slightly. Even so, the quick finish came as a surprise to all. Moving in behind the jab, Shiro slammed his rival’s body with a right hand that dropped him for the entirety of Vik Drakulich’s count. A unification bout with WBA and IBF boss, Hekkie Budler, was discussed in the aftermath.
Up at super-bantamweight, Naoya’s brother, Takuma Inoue, cruised to 11-0 when he knocked out Waldo Sabou at 2-14 of the first (scheduled for 10). Referee Kazunobu Asao administered the count.