Their first encounter was a unanimous pick for 2019 Fight of the Year, which saw Inoue (22-0, 19 KOs), a three-division world champion and a consensus top-three pound-for-pound fighter from Yokohama, Japan, overcome a fractured orbital bone around his right eye to drop and ultimately outpoint Donaire (42-6, 28 KOs) over 12 rounds. Donaire also cut Inoue, with a right hand in round nine, but suffered a knockdown from a vicious body shot in the 11th round of their WBA/IBF title unification and World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) 118-pound tournament final.