'Monster' Inoue too strong for overmatched Kim
Japanese world champion Naoya Inoue defended his undisputed super-bantamweight crown with a destructive fourth-round stoppage win against the overmatched Ye Joon Kim.
The 31-year-old controlled the opening rounds before increasing the intensity and dropping Kim with a flush right hand at Tokyo's Ariake Arena.
The Korean challenger, who took the fight at just 11 days' notice, valiantly attempted to get up on the count of 10 but the 32-year-old was saved from further damage as the referee halted the contest.
Nicknamed 'Monster' for his outstanding knockout ratio, unbeaten Inoue defended his WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine titles with a 26th stoppage in 29 professional wins.
"I didn't have enough time to study my opponent so I took some time to see what's coming from him," Inoue said.
Inoue is a four-weight world champion and arguably boxing's number one pound-for-pound boxer.
He is also a two-weight undisputed champion having won all four recognised world titles at bantamweight.
Inoue said his next two fights will take place in Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia.
Superstar Inoue cruises past Kim
Inoue was originally set to fight Sam Goodman in December and again in January before the Australian twice withdrew because of injury.
Earlier in the week, stand-in opponent Kim boldly predicted he would "crush" Inoue and cause one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
But the gulf in class soon became apparent as Inoue began to land straight rights through southpaw Kim's guard.
Kim, with swelling under his right eye, found a short burst of success with a combination in third. The challenger's willingness to let his hands go, however, invited counters from Inoue.
A left hook forced Kim into the corner in the fourth before the finishing cross right brought an inevitable end as Kim lost for the third time in 26 bouts and was stopped for the first time as a pro.
All-Japanese super fight on horizon
Inoue's past eight fights have taken place in Japan but he will now return to Las Vegas for the first time since 2021.
Unbeaten Mexican Alan David Picasso is being lined up as a potential opponent in April.
A win could then set up the much-anticipated all-Japanese showdown with WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani.
Nakatani, who defends his title against David Cuellar on 24 February, has amassed his own spectacular record of 29 wins with 22 knockouts.
