Naoya Inoue produced another brutal KO to end Paul Butler's hopes of becoming undisputed champion.
Inoue was defending his bantamweight world titles while attempting to add the final belt to his collection against British hopeful Butler in Japan. The 'Monster' came into the contest as the significant favourite having ousted rival Nonito Donaire in a rematch in June.
And it was the Japanese pound-for-pound rated star who produced the goods once again, stopping his rival in the 11th round with a brutal combination. Butler tried to stay on his feet but a neat one-two combination triggered an onslaught which saw the referee step in.
The fight started with a quiet opener before Inoue's leading jab emerged as his key weapon as he began landing some neat combinations despite Butler's sturdy. The Briton clearly hoped to weather the expected early storm but a warning came at the end of the second round when he was hurt by a stiff combination.
Inoue continued to hunt his opponent and found his first significant opening in the third round with Butler covering up in the corner before being hit by several booming right hands. A familiar pattern continued in the fourth and fifth, with Inoue stepping up the pace and probing as Butler was content to box conservatively.
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As the fight reached the halfway point, Inoue continued to step on the gas, landing all the notable shots with Butler reluctant to open up and engage. The 'Monster' began gesturing for his opponent to show something, and even performed an Ali shuffle in the seventh as he continued cruising.
It appeared Butler had given up home of winning the fight himself in the penultimate round and was just keen to stay in the ring and not be stopped by the surging Inoue. But the unified champion put his foot on the accelerator and unleashed a concluding barrage which saw Butler collapse to the ropes - and the referee step in.
Inoue has made history with no fighter having reigned as undisputed champion at bantamweight since 1973 when Enrique Pinder's reign as king of the division ended. It is expected the Japanese star will now end his run at 118lb and embark on a new mission as he looks to become a four-weight champion.
