TOKYO (AP) Naoya Inoue of Japan retained his WBO super flyweight title for a fifth time on Sunday with a third-round knockout of Ricardo Rodriguez of the United States.
Inoue dominated from the outset and sent Rodriguez to the canvas with a left to the jaw before the referee called the bout after 1 minute, 8 seconds in the third round.
Inoue improved to 13-0-0 with 11 knockouts while Rodriguez fell to 16-4-0.
In the undercard, Japan’s Akira Yaegashi suffered a first-round technical knockout and surrendered his IBF light flyweight belt to interim champ Milan Melindo of the Philippines.