Channel: Real Boxing

Category: Sports

Tags: carl frampton vs naoya inouecarl framptonnaoya inoue

Description: Donaire came dangerously close, exceeding expectations in a hard-fought 12-round loss to unbeaten pound-for-pound entrant Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16KOs) in their WBSS final earlier this month in Saitama, Japan. Inoue was a 10-1 favorite to win, but had his hands full, even in scoring an 11th round knockdown en route to a unanimous decision. The title unification victory came at a price, as he suffered a fractured orbital bone and fought through double-vision for most of the night, injuries which will place him on the shelf until mid-2020. As proud as he was of his own performance, Donaire’s personal expectations were to win outright. So, too, were that of his prior conqueror. “I fancied Donaire’s chances in the fight and picked him to win,” Frampton revealed. “He can just rip off them punches. He was relentless that night and did well throughout the tournament. “Watching him against Inoue, I was proud of my own performance against Donaire.”