Naoya Inoue needed less than nine minutes Saturday night to remind the world how he acquired the nickname “Monster.” The unified bantamweight champion scored a third-round knockout against challenger Michael Dasmarinas in the main event of a card held at the Virgin Hotel Las Vegas.
Naoya Inoue unleashed a vicious body attack on Dasmarinas that proved to be more than the challenger could handle. Inoue scored the fight’s first knockdown in the second round with a vicious left hook to the body.
Michael Dasmarinas attempted to keep his distance from the Japanese champion, but Inoue did not find it difficult to get close to his prey. Another hard left hand to the body sent Dasmarinas to the canvas at the 38-second mark of the third round.
The challenger made it to his feet just before the referee finished the ten count. Naoya Inoue needed only a few more seconds to land the body shot that would end the fight for good.
Inoue landed 31 of the 48 power shots he threw on the night. Sixteen of the landed power punches were to the body. The stoppage resulted in the first loss for Dasmarinas since 2014.
“I had a great win,” Naoya Inoue commented after his successful title defense. Inoue says he wanted to feel the challenger out in the first round. He also says it did not take him long to feel like he could knock out Dasmarinas.
Inoue says the win over number one ranked Dasmarinas makes him smile. But he explains he will smile again if he can land a fight with the winner of an upcoming clash between Nonito Donaire and John Riel Casimero.
The Donaire-Casimero winner will unify the WBO and WBC bantamweight championships. Inoue is already the unified WBA and IBF champion. If he can defeat the Donaire-Casimero winner, Naoya Inoue can become the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world.