Naoya Inoue Defends Title with Destructive Win Over Ye Joon Kim

Naoya Inoue defended his undisputed super-bantamweight title with a dominant fourth-round stoppage against Ye Joon Kim at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. The Japanese world champion known as “Monster” for his knockout power, controlled the early rounds before intensifying his attack.

Inoue dropped Kim with a powerful right hand in the fourth round and despite the Korean challenger’s attempt to rise after the count, the referee stopped the fight to protect him from further damage. At 31, Inoue extended his unbeaten record to 29-0 with 26 knockouts. The victory secured his WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine titles. The fight marked his 26th stoppage in his career.

Inoue admitted that he had not had much time to study his opponent, who took the fight on just 11 days’ notice. Despite Kim’s bravado, Inoue outclassed him. Kim briefly succeeded with a combination in the third round but soon found himself overwhelmed by Inoue’s precision and power.

The fight ended when Naoya Inoue landed a left hook that cornered Kim, followed by a decisive right cross. Inoue’s victory marked his 26th stoppage in 29 professional wins. Looking ahead, the four-weight world champion plans to fight in Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia in his next two bouts.

His next potential opponent is unbeaten Mexican Alan David Picasso with a major all-Japanese showdown against WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani possibly on the horizon. Nakatani, who will defend his title in February, boasts an impressive record of 29-0 with 22 knockouts, building anticipation for an exciting future clash.