Inoue blows away Kim in 4th round to retain undisputed 122 title
Next stop for 'The Monster' is this spring in Las Vegas, then Saudi Arabia
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Naoya Inoue did exactly what he was supposed to do: Destroy the untested, little-known late replacement Ye Joon Kim.
“The Monster” took a couple of rounds to ease into the fight before he blasted Kim out with a clean right hand to the face for a fourth-round knockout to retain the undisputed junior featherweight title on Friday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, setting the stage for a return to the United States in the spring.
Inoue, the Japanese pound-for-pound superstar, four-division champion and two-division undisputed champion, retained his 122-pound title for the fourth time and the undisputed crown for the third time in yet another crushing performance. It was his 10th consecutive knockout, all in world title bouts.
Inoue was scheduled to make an IBF/WBO mandatory defense against Australia’s Sam Goodman on Dec. 24, but when Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) suffered a cut over his left eye in a sparring session and needed four stitches, the fight was postponed until Friday. But when Goodman’s cut opened again — and much worse this time — while he was sparring for the rescheduled date, Inoue moved on, securing Kim, who was on standby, on 11 days’ notice.
