Inoue KOs Kim to retain undisputed crowns

Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue retained all of his titles with a fourth-round knockout win over Ye Joon Kim in Tokyo on Friday.

Kim 21-3-2 (13 KOs) waved Inoue forward after getting tagged with a left hook in the fourth round. Inoue obliged with a speedy two-punch combo to send Kim to the canvas.

The referee promptly waved off the full ten count, and Inoue 29-0 (26 KOs) successfully defended his WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA and Ring Magazine titles at 122 lbs.

The fight started slow before "The Monster" caught Kim with a series of rights in front of a partisan crowd at Ariake Arena. Kim responded with some combinations of his own in the third round before Inoue took several shots to Kim's head and body courtesy of his dangerous right hand.

Inoue would then seal the deal in the fourth round.

Oh, and his prefight walkout was pretty cool too.

"I am so happy to see loads of people in the arena," Inoue said postfight, according to Oscar Pick of Boxing News Online. "I feel lots of love from everyone.

"Kim, thank you so much for fighting me tonight. I didn’t have enough time to study my opponent, so I just took some time to see what was coming from him."

Inoue added: "I am pretty sure that 2025 will be a big year for me."

Kim took the fight with under two weeks' notice after Sam Goodman suffered multiple lacerations in training. The bout between Inoue and Goodman, who is undefeated according to all four governing bodies, was originally scheduled for Dec. 24.

Following the fight, Top Rank chief Bob Arum confirmed that Inoue will headline a show in Las Vegas this spring. The date has yet to be finalized.