Boxing: Inoue vacates 4 belts, moves up to super bantam

Undefeated Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue announced his decision Friday to relinquish all four bantamweight belts and move up to the super bantamweight division. The 29-year-old, nicknamed "Monster," completed a sweep of the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF belts last month with an 11th-round knockout of Britain's Paul Butler, who came in as the World Boxing Organization's bantamweight champion. "The real battle starts from here," Inoue said at a press conference in Yokohama. "I'm very excited." He became the first Japanese to top the pound-for-pound rankings published by the prestigious Ring magazine in June 2022 and now has a 24-0 record, with 21 knockouts.

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

KOBE, Japan - Japanese challenger Zaiki Takemoto, badly mauled by WBA featherweight champion Chris John, fails to stand up to the gong at the start of 10th round in the world title match in Kobe on Aug. 19. The Indonesian champion successfully retained his title for the eighth consecutive time and improved his record to 40-0 with one draw and 21 knockouts. Takemoto, appearing in his first world title bout, slipped to 21-7-1 (12 KOs).

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

KOBE, Japan - WBA featherweight champion Chris John lands a right on Japanese challenger Zaiki Takemoto as the referee tries to stop the fight at the end of the ninth round in a world title match in Kobe on Aug. 19 to successfully retain his title for the eighth consecutive time. The Indonesian boxer improved to 40-0 with one draw and 21 knockouts after Takemoto was unable to stand for the 10th round. Takemoto, appearing in his first world title bout, slipped to 21-7-1 (12 KOs).

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

KOBE, Japan - Japanese challenger Zaiki Takemoto, badly mauled by WBA featherweight champion Chris John, fails to stand up to the gong at the start of 10th round in the world title match in Kobe on Aug. 19. The Indonesian champion successfully retained his title for the eighth consecutive time and improved his record to 40-0 with one draw and 21 knockouts. Takemoto, appearing in his first world title bout, slipped to 21-7-1 (12 KOs). (Kyodo)

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

WBA undefeated champ John too much for Takemoto

KOBE, Japan - WBA featherweight champion Chris John lands a right on Japanese challenger Zaiki Takemoto as the referee tries to stop the fight at the end of the ninth round in a world title match in Kobe on Aug. 19 to successfully retain his title for the eighth consecutive time. The Indonesian boxer improved to 40-0 with one draw and 21 knockouts after Takemoto was unable to stand for the 10th round. Takemoto, appearing in his first world title bout, slipped to 21-7-1 (12 KOs). (Kyodo)