By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten cousin of Naoya, super-light southpaw prospect Koki Inoue (10-0, 9 KOs), 140, scored an important victory when he dropped OPBF#10 Korean Dong-Hee Kim (8-3-3, 3 KOs), 139.75, three times and decked a fine TKO triumph at 1:25 of the fourth round in a scheduled eight on the undercard of Naoya’s WBO title bout on Saturday in Yokohama, Japan. Having been coached by Naoya’s father Shingo since his professional debut two years ago, the tall ex-amateur lefty Koki steadily showed his progress in every fight. Koki landed a southpaw left to the belly to floor Kim midway in the third, and sent him to the canvas twice more in the fatal session. The talented Koki is willing to fight in quest of the national 140-pound belt next year.