Naoya Inoue gave fans what they wanted.
The Japanese knockout beat and then stopped short of edging out Aran Dipaen in the round of 16 to retain the bantamweight title on Tuesday in Tokyo, his first bout at home since he beat Nonito Donaire in Saitama in 2019.
Inoue (22-0, 19 KO) stalked Dipaen (12-3, 11 KO) from the start, bleeding from his nose and dealing more and more damage as the match progressed. He hurt his Thai opponent in round 7. Then, in round 8, he knocked out Dipaen with a left hook.
The dazed challenger was able to get to his feet but he…
