Inoue has become such a star in his home country that he was able to headline the first boxing event at the Tokyo Dome since James ‘Buster’ Douglas produced one of the biggest upsets in sports history against Mike Tyson in 1990.
‘The Monster’, as Inoue is nicknamed, sold out the historic venue and reportedly earned £5.2m before a punch was even thrown.
Inoue’s rock star profile was further emphasised by his entrance, as legendary Japanese musician Tomoyasu Hotei welcomed him to the ring.
Hotei played his song ‘Battle Without Honor or Humanity’, made famous worldwide when it was used in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies.
Inoue entered stony-faced and flanked by a massive firework display, not unlike how heavyweights Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury might walk to the ring when they fight at Wembley Stadium.
But after a lavish entrance just after 21:00 local time, there was a wretched start for Inoue as he was knocked down by a beautiful left hook from 29-year-old Nery in the opening round.
Fighting from a southpaw stance, Nery caught Inoue flush, but the defending champion recovered well to survive the round.
It was the first time Inoue, a man with 23 knockouts in 26 fights, had hit the deck.
Inoue went on the offensive in the second round and moving backwards landed a lightning quick counter left hook to drop Nery.
The Mexican was quickly back to his feet, but having touched the canvas he began to be more cautious in his approach.