By Joe Koizumi

Unbeaten Japanese superstar Naoya “Monster” Inoue (17-0, 15 KOs), 118, impressively kept his WBA bantamweight belt as he so quickly flattened former titlist Juan Carlos Payano (20-2, 9 KOs), 117.5, Dominican Republic, at 1:10 of the first round on Sunday in Yokohama, Japan. Naoya’s left-right combination was the haymaker. As soon as the fight started, it ended with the audience greatly stunned with such a quick demolition. As expected, Naoya’s punch was so devastating that the highly regarded Payano became a flattened pancake.

(More to come)