Boxer taunts opponent and immediately regrets it after savage knockout moments later
Boxer taunts opponent and immediately regrets it after savage knockout moments later
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Naoya Inoue added another destructive knockout to his highlight reel with victory over rival Ye Joon Kim – who begged his opponent to hit him moments before being flattened. Inoue, one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best fighters, put on another show in his native Japan on Friday morning, defending his IBF, WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles with a fourth round stoppage victory.
![[BOX-JPN-KOR]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2195013820.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The 31-year-old has built a reputation for being one of the sport’s most ferocious punchers, stopping 26 of his 29 opponents to date with the blistering power that has seen him become one of the best in the game. Ye Joon, a late stand-in having replaced original opponent Sam Goodman was ruled out through injury earlier this month, was tasked with stopping the man known as ‘The Monster’.
But Inoue took control from the opening bell, peppering his South Korean opponent with crisp, shuddering shots to the head and body throughout the opening three rounds. The fourth round marked the end for Ye Joon with Inoue stepping up a gear. After being blasted by a series of shots upstairs, Ye Joon unwisely gestured ‘come on’ for Inoue to push forward and hit him again.
He repeated the request with Inoue gladly accepting, dropping the challenger with a vicious right hand that almost knocked him through the ropes. Ye Joon tried to get back to his feet to try and beat the count but the referee mercifully stepped in to wave off the contest.
