Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue completes historic achievement with stoppage win over Marlon Tapales in Boxing Day bout in Tokyo

Naoya Inoue became the undisputed super bantamweight champion on Boxing Day after stopping Filipino southpaw Marlon Tapales in the 10th round in front of his adoring fans in Tokyo.

Inoue, who has earned the nickname 'The Monster', entered the match as the overwhelming favorite but was made to work hard by his opponent.

After flooring Tapales in the final seconds of the fourth round, Inoue had to wait six more rounds before the fight was finally called to the plate.

The 30-year-old's win extended his professional record to 26-0, with 23 wins via knockout.

He also made history by becoming only the second fighter to be recognized as an undisputed champion in two weight classes during the four-belt era.

Terence Crawford achieved the feat in July when he defeated Errol Spence to claim all four welterweight titles after previously ruling the super lightweight division in 2017.

Inoue has now matched that feat, but did it in a much shorter time frame, having only won the last of his four bantamweight titles against Britain's Paul Butler last December.

Twelve months later, he cleaned up the super bantamweight division in two fights.

He produced a dazzling performance in July by stopping American Stephen Fulton inside eight laps, collecting two cushions, and demolished Tapales on Boxing Day to complete the title run.

Inoue is now a four-weight world champion and there are rumors that he could move to another division in the near future.

But he is expected to remain in the 122lb division a little longer, possibly meeting his WBC mandatory challenger Luis Nery in May before considering a move to featherweight.