Australian boxer Jason Moloney lost his WBO bantamweight world title to Japan's Yoshiki Takei at the Tokyo Dome on Monday night.
And fellow Aussie Sam Goodman called out Naoya Inoue after the superstar suffered his first knockdown of his career in his victory against Mexico's Luiz Nery.
Former professional kickboxer Takei, in his ninth professional boxing bout, outpointed the 33-year-old Moloney by unanimous decision, taking the match 116-111, 116-111, 117-110 on the judges' cards.
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The Australian could not capitalise on an early point deduction for Takei after a few low blows in the opening two rounds, with the Australian playing catch up the whole fight in front of a parochial home crowd.
Moloney had a huge 12th round and had Takei in some trouble and landed 26 power punches in the final round but to no avail.
ESPN's Joe Tessitore said Moloney was "outgunned" by "a far superior boxer".
In the main event, international star Inoue, defending the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Ring super bantamweight world titles, found himself in trouble early against the Mexican after a surprise knockdown.
Nery caught Inoue in the second round, silencing the home crowd momentarily before Inoue found his groove, landing brutal power shots to drop his opponent in the fifth, before finishing him off in the sixth.
"As for my next move, I'd like to arrange a fight around September against this boxer Sam Goodman," the Japanese star said in a post-match interview.
Illawarra local Goodman, the IBF mandatory challenger, was in attendance inside the sold-out 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome and entered the ring to challenge Inoue.
"I've been mandatory for over a year. Either give up the belts or fight me. Let's get it on," Goodman said.
It was Inoue's 27th win of his unbeaten career and 24th knockout, and just a second defeat for Nery in 37 bouts.
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