(Featured image: Alamy Images under agreed license)

Japanese monster Naoya Inoue returns to action this week when he takes on replacement opponent Ye Joon Kim on Friday.

Inoue was initially set to defend his undisputed super-bantamweight title against Australia’s Sam Goodman, before a repeat eye injury forced him to pull out of the fight for a second time.

Highly-regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, Inoue has already won world titles in four separate weight divisions, blowing away all who have crossed his path in the process.

His 89% knockout ratio is almost unheard of at the lower weights, yet the 31-year-old has made regular habit of winning inside the distance, often in spectacular fashion.

Here we take a look at his 28 fight career so far, picking out the standard victories ahead of his showdown with Kim at the Ariake Arena on Friday.

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5. Emmanuel Rodriguez (2019)

Inoue made his maiden bow on Scottish shores when he took on then IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez.

The Puerto Rican was yet to taste defeat in 19 contests heading into the Inoue showdown, but wasn’t made to wait long before feeling the Japanese native’s gut-wrenching power.

Inoue floored Rodriguez three times in the second round of the bout, the second blow leaving the latter shaking his head at his corner in disbelief, before he was floored again for a final time moments later.

Referee Michael Alexander had seen enough and opted to wave the fight off, allowing Inoue to add the IBF belt to the WBA title he already held.

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4. Luis Nery (2024)

Mexican challenger Luis Nery was never going to be a popular man in Japan courtesy of a failed drug test prior to his rematch with native fighter Shinsuke Yamanaka in 2018, but his comments that he was on ‘a different level’ to Inoue only fed the animosity felt towards him by the home crowd in the build-up to their encounter.

To his credit, Nery looked unnerved in the opening stages of their showdown in the Tokyo Dome last year and even floored Inoue in the first round for only the second time in the latter’s career.

He was soon made to regret it however, as the champion set about exacting revenge and succeeded in doing so, flooring the challenger with a short left hand in the following round.

Nery regrouped but was unable to stop the storm coming his way, finding himself on the seat of his trunks once again in round five.

The knockdown marked the beginning of the end for Nery, who was knocked flat on his face courtesy of an Inoue right hand in the sixth.

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3. Juan Carlos Payano (2018)

Perhaps the most visually striking victory in Inoue’s career so far came in his first-round blowout of Juan Carlos Payano in 2018.

The pair were competing in the quarter-finals of that year’s iteration of the World Boxing Super Series in a packed-out Yokohoma Arena.

Payano, who had only been defeated once prior to the fight, was left staring up at the ceiling after a devastating quick-fire one-two from the Japanese fighter.

Nicknamed ‘Baby Pacquiao’, the challenger tried to return to his feet but was unable to muster the strength, such was the ferocity of the blows dealt by Inoue.

The fight may not have been Inoue’s most difficult on paper, but the final moments will certainly live long in the memory.

2. Nonito Donaire (2022)

Inoue was handed his toughest fight so far when he first met Nonito Donaire in November 2019.

The pair fought at a hellacious pace across 12 brutal rounds which ended with Inoue getting his hand raised via split-decision, in a fight where he also suffered a fractured eye socket.

A rematch seemed inevitable and was made two-and-a-half-years later with Inoue’s IBF and WBC bantamweight titles on the line.

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The second fight wasn’t quite as competitive, though, as Inoue dispatched of his Filipino counterpart inside two rounds at the Super Arena in Saitama.

The champion first floored Donaire with a short right hand in the first round, before hurting him again with a left hook in the second.

With predatory instinct, Inoue set about his foe and landed what would prove to be the final punch of the fight with another thudding right hand.

Referee Michael Griffin subsequently waved the bout off, erasing any doubts which may have lingered from their initial meeting.

1. Stephen Fulton (2023)

After successfully conquering four other weight divisions, Inoue made the step-up to super-bantamweight in July 2023.

Most fighters are forgiven for a light introduction to their new weight-class but Naoya Inoue isn’t like most fighters.

Instead, he opted to take on the division’s number one fighter in unified champion Stephen Fulton Jr.

The American was undefeated in 21 professional contests, having collected the WBO and WBC during that time at 122lbs.

Yet he was no match for ‘The Monster’, who outboxed and then broke down Fulton in stunning fashion.

His breakthrough came with a clubbing right-hand which was swiftly followed by a thunderous left hook, both of which left Fulton on the canvas with his senses scrambled.

The latter regained his footing but was facing an impossible task as more Inoue shots continued to bombard him.

With nowhere to go, Fulton backed up to the ropes and looked to cover up but Inoue’s shots were too precise, too punishing, and left referee Hector Afu with no choice but to wave the bout off 1:14 into the eighth round.

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