Naoya Inoue Heading to Vegas Following Ye Joon Kim Stoppage
At the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue put the belts on the line against South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim. Inoue is universally recognized as one of the elite boxers in the world.
With his combination of boxing skill, speed, and dynamic power, Monster has dominated the lower-weight divisions for the past decade and has become a global attraction. He faced Kim, a late replacement for the IBF and WBO junior featherweight mandatory challenger, Sam Goodman.
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Kim (21-3-2, 13 KOs) did a halfway decent job of using his foot movement and jab to keep Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) at bay during the first two rounds. However, you knew it was only a matter of time before the champion would figure out his southpaw opponent.
In round three, Monster began to find his groove and connect with hard right hands and left hooks. Stalking and chopping down his prey, he buzzed Kim with a left hook to the head with a minute to go in round four. Moments later, a big right hand from Inoue put Kim down and out for the count.
Inoue barely had to break a sweat in this contest. During the post-fight interview, his co-promoter, Bob Arum, announced that his next fight will occur this spring in Las Vegas. Inoue said he also plans to fight in Saudi Arabia later this year. Many fans hope that his next opponent will be the former unified 122-pound champion and WBA mandatory challenger, Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
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