Inoue, nicknamed “The Monster,” made quick work of overmatched Frenchman Yoan Boyeaux in their scheduled 12-round fight for Inoue’s WBO super flyweight championship in Yokohama, Japan, Inoue’s hometown. The heavy-handed Inoue battered Boyeaux into submission in the third round at Bunka Gym.
Referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped their bout at 1:40 of the third round.
The 24-year-old Inoue (15-0, 13 KOs) successfully defended the WBO 115-pound championship for the seventh time on the three-year anniversary of his title win against Omar Narvaez. Inoue – generally regarded as one boxing’s best fighters, pound-for-pound – has said, however, that he plans to move up to bantamweight for his next bout.
The 29-year-old Boyeaux (41-5, 26 KOs, 1 NC) had not been knocked out before Inoue stopped him, but built his record largely against pedestrian opposition since making his pro debut eight years ago. Boyeaux is ranked No. 7 among the WBO’s contenders in the super flyweight division.
UNDERCARD
Shiro improved to 12-0 as a pro with a fourth round stoppage of Gilberto Pedraza, leading to the challenger dropping a fourth loss of his 24-fight career.
On the undercard, featherweight Satoshi Shimizu stopped Eduardo Mancito in seven rounds, whilst bantamweight Kazuki Nakajima, super lightweight Katsuya Yasuda and flyweight Kazunori Yorimasa all carded decision wins in their respective contests.
Inoue family members Takuma and Koki can both now boast 10-fight winning records at super-bantamweight and super-lightweight respectively after the former out-pointed Kentaro Masuda and the latter halted Dong Hee Kim in the fourth session.
