Naoya Inoue unified the super-bantamweight division with a tenth-round knockout win over Marlon Tapales in Tokyo on Boxing Day.
The 30-year-old claimed the 26th victory of his stunning career with a huge right hand to add the WBA and IBF titles to his WBC and WBO crowns.
It was the 23rd knockout win of his career as the Japanese fighter underlined his status as a pound-for-pound great.
‘The Monster’ becomes only the second man, following in the footsteps of Terence Crawford, to become a two-weight undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Tapales first hit the canvas in round four after a clean left hook but put in a battling performance and was not afraid to trade with Inoue in the centre of the ring but could not recover and beat the count after a second knockdown.
Inoue wants to stay at super-bantamweight in 2024 and hinted at a big fight on the cards in May.
"I think a lot of people know the rumour of a fight coming about in May," he said.
"But I can’t say much about this yet because we’re under negotiation.
"But I want to make everybody happy so that I can show you a great fight next year as well."
