LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Japan's Naoya Inoue knocked Michael Dasmarinas down three times in three rounds to easily retain his World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation belts in a bantamweight world title bout on Saturday night (June 19).

Inoue knocked the challenger down once in the second and then twice in the third, forcing the referee to halt the onslaught at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Inoue improved to 21-0, with 18 knockouts while Dasmarinas of the Philippines dropped to 30-3-1, with 20 KOs.

It was the first loss for Dasmarinas since losing a split decision in 2014, but it was obvious he has never faced a fighter of the magnitude of Inoue, who is considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.

Inoue's game plan to go to the body worked perfectly on Dasmarinas, who hardly threw any punches in rounds two and three.

Elsewhere, Jermall Charlo beat challenger Juan Montiel by a unanimous decision to keep his perfect record intact and retain his WBC middleweight title.

The unbeaten Charlo thrilled his hometown crowd at the Toyota Center arena in Houston, Texas, winning on all three judges' scorecards, including 120-108 on one.

This was the fifth title defence for Charlo, who improved to 32-0 with 22 KOs overall.