Naoya “Monster” Inoue (17-0, 15 KOs) lived up to his nickname with a performance that will again have scared the division’s other champions. Inoue was in no mood for a drawn-out affair, wasting little time in letting his hands go as he flattened former titlist Juan Carlos Payano (20-2, 9 KOs) on Sunday in Yokohama, Japan.

Inoue uncoiled a left-right combination that ended proceedings and possibly the nightmares of the monster for Payano in the contests opener.