Naoya Inoue has successfully retained his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles after knocking out Ye Joon Kim.
With Inoue facing a last-minute replacement opponent, it was expected that he would dispatch Kim with ease, and the signs were evident early on that this would be the case.
Following the opening bell, it looked like Kim had frozen in Tokyo. He was stiff with a lack of movement, this allowed Inoue to back up his foe into the corner to establish his dominance in round one.
Three minutes was all Inoue needed to get into the groove as he emerged from his corner for the second with a spring in his step. His right hand was landing with ease on both Kim’s body and head with the South Korean struggling to offer anything significant in return.
As swelling began to appear under Kim’s right eye, it was boom or bust as he landed a number of combinations in the third. Compared to Inoue’s power however, they failed to make any inroads with the 'Monster' not phased by what was coming his way in round three.
Kim’s courage continued in the fourth, but a left counter early on from Inoue signalled the beginning of the end. Kim, despite being on the end of a ruthless barrage, kept urging Inoue to come forward, and this was a grave mistake.
Inoue smelt blood and continued to land punch after punch, and a thumping right hand delivered the final blow sending Kim straight to the canvas and almost through the ring ropes.
For Inoue, this performance has set up what will be a big year for the 'Monster' who is now set to fight in Las Vegas this Spring according to his promoter Bob Arum before a trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Re-live DAZN News' round-by-round coverage below.