Naoya Inoue remains unstoppable: with a convincing T.K.O. in the fourth round, the Japanese boxer continued his winning streak in the super bantamweight division and revealed big plans for 2025.
Naoya Inoue successfully defended his world super bantamweight title against Ye Joon Kim of South Korea today, Friday, January 24, 2025. The Japanese fighter won by technical knockout in the fourth round. In front of a sold-out crowd at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Inoue prevailed in commanding fashion. The fight ended after 2:25 minutes of the fourth round. Inoue sent his opponent to the floor with a combination of jab and right straight. Referee Mark Nelson stopped the fight immediately.
Kim starts bravely against Naoya Inoue
Kim, who had stepped in at short notice for the injured Sam Goodman, was courageous at the start of the fight and looked for his chance to cause a sensation. The South Korean had just eleven days to prepare for the fight against the four-time champion and number 1 in the BOXSPORT world rankings in the 55.225 kg category. Clearly not enough. The South Korean chose the right hand position and looked for opportunities to tempt Inoue into making mistakes.
Inoue increases the pressure
After a cautious first round – “I didn’t have much time to study my opponent,” said the Undisputed Champ almost apologetically after the fight – he picked up speed in the second round. Hard right straights and left hooks hit their target. Kim was smiling, but the swelling under his left eye spoke for itself. Kim was able to land a few punches in the third round. But Naoya Inoue remained calm and adapted skillfully. Whenever Kim had a hand on target, Inoue immediately launched a counterattack.
End in round four
In the fourth round, Inoue then put his opponent under massive pressure. A series of hard punches drove Kim into the corner. After a final jab and a right straight, Kim went down. The referee stopped the fight. He now has a perfect record of 21-0 in fights where at least one title from one of the four major world federations was at stake.
It was Inoue’s tenth knockout victory in a row. Since moving up to super bantamweight in 2023, he has ended all of his fights early. This was the third time the Japanese fighter had successfully defended his title. His reign in the super bantam began in July 2023 with an eighth-round knockout against the previously unbeaten WBC/WBO title holder Stephen Fulton. In December 2023, Inoue won The Ring championship and the WBA/IBF belts with a ten-round knockout of Marlon Tapales to become the undisputed champion.
Next fights in Las Vegas and Riyadh
“It was another great performance from our champion here,” said promoter Bob Arum, whose company Top Rank manages Inoue together with Ohashi Promotions. The Japanese fighter was also fighting in his home country for the eighth time in a row. The series stretches back to 2021. He had previously made two appearances in the USA, where he now plans to return this spring. “2025 will be the year I go to other countries to fight,” Inoue confirmed after the fight. “Next I will go to Las Vegas for a big fight and later this year I will go to Saudi Arabia.”
Text: Andreas Ohlberger
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