In 2020 Jason Moloney was offered the chance to face Inoue for the IBF and WBA bantamweight titles in a temporary venue known as ‘The Bubble’ at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The Australian jumped at the chance.
Moloney, who went on to become a WBO bantamweight champion in 2023, describes taking Inoue’s best shots.
“It’s like a shocking power,” he says.
“You go into the fight – you know he’s the Monster. You’ve seen his knockouts. You’ve heard about his power.
“He was throwing a few, I was catching a few on the gloves and I thought ‘this is OK, this is nothing I can’t handle’. But when he lands them, they’re just so crisp.
“It’s a real shock that just sort of goes right through you like electric. They’re not nice to wear.
“In round eight as I’m moving round to my corner, he hit me with a backhand with two seconds to go.
“It hit me flush on the chin. I remember the bell going and I cannot remember a word of what Joe said to me in that corner.
“I remember standing up to go out for round nine and thinking ‘wow, my legs are still shaky’. I still couldn’t feel them.
“It’s more so the timing, the speed and the accuracy.
“It’s more the all-round power around it, rather than a one-shot Deontay Wilder-type power.”