Naoya Inoue completely outclassed the first Filipino he is slated to face this year.
With WBC champ Nonito Donaire and WBO king John Riel Casimero in attendance, Inoue put a three-round beatdown of Michael Dasmarinas to retain the WBA and IBF World Bantamweight Championships, Sunday afternoon (Manila time) at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the third round, the Japanese Monster punished Dasmarinas with a liver shot with 41 ticks left. Though Dasmarinas was able to fight the 10-count, Inoue landed another body shot with 20 seconds left. That then forced the referee to stop the match.
Inoue, the third-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, hiked his record to 21-0 with 18 KOs.
It was a dominant display from the 28-year-old Japanese pug right from the get-go.
Inoue controlled Dasmarinas in the opening round, which saw the Filipino act too tentative and wary.
Sensing blood, Inoue put up the aggression in the second round. He threw crisp jabs before landing left hooks to Dasmarinas’ body, resulting to the first knockdown of the bout.
It was all but over in the next three minutes.
Dasmarinas, 29, dropped to 30-3-1.
Inoue now awaits the winner of the unification bout between Donaire and Casimero, scheduled for August 14.
