Former World Boxing Organization’s Asia-Pacific super lightweight champion Koki Inoue of Ohashi Boxing Gym, unleashing a barrage of right and left combinations, stopped second-ranked Abdurasul Ismoilov of Uzbekistan for the vacant WBO’s Asia-Pacific super lightweight title.

  The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder came 2 minutes and 11 seconds into the round when the left-handed Inoue decked the 26-year-old Ismoilov three times by connecting with left and right hooks to the head and body, which prompted the referee to call off the fight.

  After the fight, Inoue, a cousin of Naoya ‘’the Monster’’ Inoue, said, ‘’I finally achieved a breakthrough. While I almost gave up the fight in the eighth round, I heard the voice ‘’Don’t give up’’ from Naoya. I hung tough and showed everything I had in my arsenal even if it would kill me. I am determined to correct my weak points so that I can move on to the next stage.’’

  It is the second time for the 31-year-old Inoue to capture the WBO’s Asia-Pacific super lightweight crown.

  With the win, Inoue improved his record to 17 wins, including 14 KOs, against a loss. For his part, Ismoilov, who changed his fighting style from orthodox to southpaw and vice versa frequently, fell to a 10-2 win-loss tally with six KOs.