Inoue Destroys Kim In 4 Rounds To Remain Undisputed!

Naoya Inoue outclassed Ye Joon Kim to stop him inside four rounds and remain the Undisputed Super Bantamweight Champion.
It was Inoue’s tenth KO in a row, and he showed no signs of slipping up. The fight could have proved tricky, given the circumstances. Inoue was meant to fight Sam Goodman on December 24 last year. But Goodman sustained a cut in sparring, so the fight was rescheduled for January 24. But Goodman pulled out again after news that the cut could take six months to heal. Kim got his chance, but he never looked like troubling Inoue.
The first round had very little action. Inoue was controlling the center of the ring. Kim continued to use his footwork to move around and try to gain a reading on Inoue. The champion landed a couple of shots to the body in an uneventful opener. But the second round showed it was going to be tough for Kim. Inoue landed with his trademark right hand, which caught Kim’s attention. A counter right then followed from the champion. Inoue had found his range. Kim had to let his hands go to gain Inoue’s respect.
But he failed to do so, as his left eye had bruising by round three. That set up the eventual finish in the fourth. Inoue had Kim on the ropes. The challenger urged Inoue to throw. Inoue responded by landing his jab, followed by the right hand. Kim hit the canvas and could not beat the count. It was a spectacular finish as Inoue moved to 29-0. Inoue will fight overseas this year, with fights lined up in Vegas and Saudi Arabia. The performance reminded everyone why he is one of the best P4P fighters.
Inoue’s KO
“I am so happy to see lots of people in the arena. More than I expected after my opponent has been changed. Sam Goodman was injured twice and my new opponent stood up to me 10 days before the fight. But I feel lots of love from everyone. Thank you so much and I appreciate it. Overall I think it was a bit a good match. [And] I didn’t have enough time to study about my opponent, so I just took some time to see what’s coming from him,” Inoue
“I just want to say another great performance by our champion here. I observe that the great country of Japan has given [LA Dodgers star Shohei] Ohtani to the city of Los Angeles. And at least for one fight the great country of Japan will give this great Inoue to the city of Las Vegas for one fight this spring. So thank you all and I really appreciate it,” Bob Arum
Full Results
Naoya Inoue beat Ye Joon Kim (KO 4/12)
Jin Sasaki beat Shoki Sakai (UD 12); Welterweights
Yuni Takada beat Goki Kobayashi (SD 12); Minimumweights
Kai Watanabe beat Tsubasa Narai (SD 10); Lightweights
Toshiki Shimomachi beat Misaki Hirano (MD 10); Super Bantamweights
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