Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire put their bantamweight world titles on the line in a huge unification clash in Japan today.
It is a little over two-and-a-half years since these two warriors first met at Saitama’s Super Arena, producing an instant classic and ‘Fight of the Year’ winner that will live long in the memory.
That incredible battle was an absorbing back-and-forth showdown, with ‘Monster’ Inoue cut early on and suffering a fractured eye socket and broken nose, but fighting back to floor Donaire in round 11.
He eventually triumphed on the judges scorecards 116-111, 117-109 and 114-113 to become the unified bantamweight world champion and also lift the Muhammad Ali Trophy as World Boxing Super Series winner at 118lbs.
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The hard-hitting Inoue, Top Rank’s knockout phenom who is a prominent fixture at the top of pound-for-pound lists, has remained undefeated since then, knocking out challengers Jason Moloney and Michael Dasmarinas after a showdown with WBO champion John Riel Casimero was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic while also stopping Aran Dipaen on his last outing in December to easily retain the WBA, IBF and The Ring titles.
The 29-year-old will once again be the strong favourite to dispatch Hall of Fame-bound Donaire, a beloved four-weight world champion and three-time bantamweight king who turns 40 in November.
‘The Filipino Flash’ stunned boxing with a fourth-round knockout of Frenchman Nordine Oubaali in California last May, becoming the oldest-ever bantamweight champion and regaining the WBC belt 10 years after originally winning it against Fernando Montiel. He later defended it successfully by seeing off compatriot Reymart Gaballo before Christmas.
The winner of this bout will have their eyes firmly fixed on undisputed status, with only Casimero’s WBO belt standing between them and history.
Inoue vs Donaire 2 date, start time, venue and ring walks
Inoue vs Donaire 2 takes place at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on Tuesday June 7, 2022.
British fight fans will be pleased to hear that the main card is due to start at approximately 10:30am BST in the UK, with the main event scheduled for around 12:30pm.
As ever, these timings are subject to change, depending on the length of the preceding undercard fights.
Inoue vs Donaire 2 fight card/undercard in full
Naoya Inoue vs Nonito Donaire
Takuma Inoue vs Gakuya Furuhashi
Andy Hiraoka vs Shun Akaiwa
Toshiya Ishii vs Hikaru Fukunaga
Kanamu Sakama vs Fuki Ishigaki
How to watch Inoue vs Donaire 2
TV channel: Inoue vs Donaire 2 is not available to watch live on television in the UK, but is on ESPN+ in America and Amazon Prime in Japan.
Live stream: However, promoters Top Rank will be streaming the whole card live for free via their official YouTube channel on Tuesday, exclusively in the UK and Ireland.
LIVE blog: You can also catch all the action courtesy of Standard Sport’s live blog.
Inoue vs Donaire 2 fight prediction
Even if this fight is half as good as the first clash in 2019, we are in for quite some treat.
Pound-for-pound great Inoue is one of boxing’s most fearsome and formidable punchers, as his 19 knockouts from 22 career victories can attest.
However, Donaire has previously shown that he can seriously rattle and hurt his rival like no one else has and won’t be overawed by a partisan home crowd.
At 39, Donaire continues to defy Father Time and is still capable of pulling off the sort of shocks that go down in boxing folklore.
He will give everything as usual in another engrossing war, but this time we are backing Inoue - 17-0 in world title fights - to impose his power quicker and get the job done inside the distance.
Inoue to win via knockout in round nine.
Inoue vs Donaire 2 weigh-in results
Both fighters made weight at the first attempt on Monday, so it’s game on for this tantalising three-belt unification showdown.
Inoue hit the scales exactly on the bantamweight limit of 118lbs, with Donaire coming in slightly lighter at 117.8lbs.
Inoue vs Donaire 2 betting odds
Inoue to win: 1/7
Donaire to win: 4/1
Draw: 25/1
Inoue via KO, TKO or DQ: 8/15
Inoue via decision/technical decision: 16/5
Donaire via KO, TKO or DQ: 13/2
Donaire via decision/technical decision: 10/1
