Naoya Inoue scores 7th-round knockout on Top Rank card

Jason Moloney learned the hard way Saturday night inside Top Rank’s bubble at the MGM Grand: Unified bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue is as good as advertised.

Or better.

The Japanese superstar dazzled in his Las Vegas and Top Rank debuts and retained his WBA and IBF bantamweight titles by knocking out Moloney 2:59 into the seventh round of their title fight inside the hotel’s Grand Ballroom.

Inoue, 27, is nicknamed “The Monster” for his aggressive, prowling style and vicious, knockout power. Easy to see why.

“The Monster is a special fighter. I haven’t seen a young fighter like that in a long time,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “And credit to Jason Moloney for fighting like a warrior. He gave it his absolute best.”

Inoue (20-0, 17 knockouts) is one of Japan’s top professional athletes and boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters, combining speed, skill and power to annihilate his opponents. He claimed his 19th victory in November 2019, braving a broken orbital and nose to secure a unanimous decision over Nonito Donaire in his native Japan.

His 20th victory wasn’t nearly as dramatic.

Inoue attacked the 29-year-old Australian in the first round and applied pressure throughout the course of the next six, connecting on 107 punches to Moloney’s 62, per CompuBox. He dropped Moloney (21-2, 18 KOs) with a short left in the sixth round, foreshadowing a brutal knockout late in the seventh.

A straight right that collapsed Moloney, capping a clinical performance.

Inoue was supposed to fight WBO titlist Johnriel Casimero in April at Mandalay Bay Events Center, but the fight was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He still wants Casimero’s belt. And he wants WBC champion Nordine Oubaali’s belt, too.

“The final punch, the finishing punch, I’m very happy and satisfied with that punch,” said Inoue, who signed with Top Rank a year ago. “As you go fight to fight, you learn things from the previous fight. … I’m getting wiser and better.”

Mayer wins first title

In the co-feature, former Olympian Mikaela Mayer rolled to a 100-88, 100-88, 99-89 victory over Ewa Brondicka to win the WBO super featherweight title, the first of her career.

Brondicka (19-1, two KOs) missed weight and was stripped of the title Friday. But she didn’t stand a chance Saturday against Mayer, who crowded Brondicka and pummeled her from close proximity.

“There were definitely some things I could’ve done a little bit better, but ultimately it was a good learning fight,” said Mayer (14-0, five KOs).

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.