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Vegas-bound Inoue knocks out South Korea's Kim in Tokyo / Photo: © AFP
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Vegas-bound Inoue knocks out South Korea's Kim in Tokyo
Japan's unbeaten Naoya Inoue retained his undisputed world super-bantamweight titles on Friday in style by knocking out South Korean rank outsider Kim Ye-joon in the fourth round in Tokyo.
Inoue is expected to take his prodigious skills to Las Vegas for his next fight and he bid farewell to his adoring fans in the Japanese capital with another ferocious performance.
The 31-year-old took his record to 29-0 with 26 knockouts after making short work of Kim, who stepped in to replace injured Australian Sam Goodman just two weeks before the fight.
Inoue stunned Kim with a left hand near the end of the fourth round, then sent him to the canvas with a juddering right that convinced the Korean fighter's corner to throw in the towel.
"I don't know how complete I am as a boxer. I want to keep training so that I can keep improving until the end of my career," said Inoue.
"I'm aiming to fight overseas this year, and I want to fight in Las Vegas in spring."
Inoue signed a sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Season last year and he has also been tipped to fight in Saudi Arabia later this year.
He has not fought outside Japan since he beat Michael Dasmarinas in Las Vegas in June 2021.
The 32-year-old Kim, who grew up in an orphanage and did not take up boxing until the was 20, is ranked No. 11 by the WBO in the super-bantamweight division.
It was Inoue's third title defence since becoming undisputed super-bantamweight world champion in December 2023.
"My opponent changed at the last minute and I didn't have much time to prepare for him, so I thought I would take time to see how it went in the ring," said Inoue.
"Overall, I think it was a good performance."
Inoue made a strong start against Kim, who had beaten all seven Japanese fighters he had previously faced.
Inoue kept Kim pinned in the corner for most of the early rounds, although the Korean fighter managed to connect with some combinations.
Inoue suddenly upped the pace in the fourth round, finishing his opponent with an unanswered flurry of punches.
The last of those sent Kim crashing to the ground and his corner promptly threw in the towel.
It was Inoue's 10th straight knock-out win.
Kim, who had the chance to become South Korea's first male world champion in over 20 years, saw his record fall to 21-3 with two draws.
Inoue was originally scheduled to face Goodman on December 24 but the bout was postponed a month when the Australian suffered a cut above his eye in training.
Goodman was then forced to withdraw from the fight when he reopened the cut and Kim was brought in as a last-minute replacement.
Z.Sanchez--SFF
