Naoya Inoue lived up to his nickname – “Monster” – once again.
The bantamweight titleholder put challenger Michael Dasmarinas down three times with vicious left-handed body shots, the last one of which ended their fight in the third round Saturday at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Inoue (21-0, 18 KOs) spent the first round-plus chasing down a reluctant Dasmarinas, who tried to use lateral movement to stay out of trouble.
However, the Japanese star landed his first big body blow about midway through Round 2. Dasmarimas seemed to absorb the shot for a moment but, in a delayed reaction, took a knee in great pain.
The Filipino survived the round and tried to protect his right side but couldn’t do so for long. Inoue connected with another hook to the same spot with about 40 seconds to go in Round 2, which sent Dasmarinas to all fours and he began writhing.
He was able to get to his feet only to go down once more from a shot to same area. This time referee Russell Mora didn’t bother to count. The fight was over.
The official time was 2:45 of Round 3.
“I prepare myself to knock them out, whether with a head shot or a body shot,” Inoue said through a translator. “I came prepared and to get a win by knockout is good for me.
“The first round, I just wanted to see what he had. It depended on how he came out, and after a little while, yeah, I thought I could get him out.”
Inoue has now won two consecutive fights since he suffered a broken orbital bone in a unanimous-decision victory over Nonito Donaire in November 2019.
Donaire, coming off a sensational stoppage of Nordine Oubaali to win a 118-pound title last month, is expected to defend against the third beltholder in the division, John Riel Casimero.
Inoue will most likely face the winner of the Donaire-Casimero fight for the undisputed bantamweight championship.
“Getting the win makes me smile,” he said, “but to be able to fight the winner of Casimero and Donaire, that brings me another smile.”
In preliminary bouts, Mikaela Mayer (15-0, 5 KOs) successfully defended her 130-pound title against Erica Farias (26-5, 10 KOs), winning a unanimous decision.
And former junior featherweight titleholder Isaac Dogboe (22-2, 15 KOs) defeated Adam Lopez (15-3, 6 KOs) by a majority decision in a 10-round featherweight bout.