Naoya Inoue plots Las Vegas fight after four-round destruction of Ye Joon Kim
Naoya Inoue plots Las Vegas fight after four-round destruction of Ye Joon Kim
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The Monster is coming to Las Vegas. Naoya Inoue, the undefeated Japanese boxing star known as Kaibutsu (怪物), confirmed his plans for a spring fight in the United States after meting out a four-round destruction of South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim on Friday night to strengthen his claim as the world’s finest boxer regardless of weight.
![[Japan’s Naoya Inoue celebrates his 10th straight knockout win.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ef6c99beefa26db224443d96d9d0752d05cf6b6c/0_0_4242_2828/master/4242.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Inoue (29-0, 26 KO) laid bare the gulf in class between the fighters from the opening bell at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena, picking the overmatched challenger apart before dropping him for good with a left-right combination near the end of the fourth round to retain his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles at 122lbs.
“Yes, 2025 will be a big year for me to go to overseas countries to have a fight,” Inoue said afterward through a translator. “In spring of 2025 I’ll be going to Las Vegas to show you the great match.”. The four-weight champion then confirmed: “I am planning to have fights in Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia this year.”.
The 32-year-old Kim, who took Friday’s fight on less than two weeks’ notice after Australian contender Sam Goodman suffered a cut during training, proved no match for Inoue’s stabbing jab, blinding hand speed and twitchy in-and-out movement. The champion began ramping up the pace from the second round, committed to a costly body attack in the third before uncorking the decisive left-right combination in the fourth that dumped the challenger to the canvas in the final minute. Kim was unable to beat the 10-count, prompting referee Mark Nelson to wave it off at the 2:25 mark.
