No surprises at the Ariake Arena in Koto-Ku (Tokyo), where local hero Naoya Inoue destroyed the unfortunate Korean challenger Ye Joon Kim in just four rounds yesterday. Kim was a last-minute replacement, stepping in for official challenger Sam Goodman, who had to withdraw from the title shot due to an injury sustained during training. With this latest victory inside the distance, the “Monster” retained his super bantamweight world titles and extended his incredible record to 29 wins in as many fights, including an impressive 26 knockouts.
Not much happened in the first round, a typical feeling-out phase that Inoue took thanks to a few well-placed body shots in the closing moments. The fight came alive in the second round, as the world champion began to showcase his entire arsenal, landing repeatedly to the head and body with stunning ease.
Kim tried to respond in the third round, managing to land some nice combinations and bravely trading punches with the Japanese superstar in the center of the ring. However, his courage was short-lived. Inoue’s superior power and self-assurance quickly became apparent, and he closed the show in his usual style in the fourth round.
The ending was laced with a touch of irony, as just moments before being caught by the decisive combination, Ye Joon Kim dramatically invited Inoue to come forward, only to hit the canvas seconds later after a vicious one-two to the head. It’s likely that some earlier body shots also convinced the Korean fighter to stay down, as Kim was visibly clutching his right side while helplessly listening to the referee’s count.
Now Naoya Inoue can focus on his next objectives. As revealed by Bob Arum, the “Monster” will return to the ring in the spring in Las Vegas and later fight in Saudi Arabia later in the year. According to some reports, his next opponent is expected to be the undefeated Mexican Alan Picasso, but many now believe that Inoue has no rivals left at super bantamweight and that only another move up in weight could provide him with opponents capable of truly challenging him.