The seemingly-unstoppable Naoya Inoue steps up in weight on Tuesday 25th July to fight WBC and WBO super bantamweight king Stephen Fulton. ‘Kaibutsu’ relinquished his undisputed bantamweight crown in January, having completed his unification in December with an 11th-round knockout of Brit Paul Butler.
Inoue now aims to become a four-weight world champion as he takes on the unbeaten Fulton. The American is arguably Inoue’s toughest fight in years, perhaps since the 2019 war he shared with Nonito Donaire in their first fight. Inoue asserted his dominance over the Filipino Flash last year, knocking him out in the second round of a rematch.
Here’s everything you need to know about this Japanese super-fight.
When: Tuesday 25th July, 9:30am UK time
Where: Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, Japan
How To Watch: Sky Sports
Tale of the Tape
Inoue:
Place Of Birth: Zama, Kanagawa, Japan
Age: 29
Alias: Kaibutsu (Translation: The Monster)
Record: 24-0 (21)
Height: 5’5’’
Reach: 67½’’
Stance: Orthodox
Last Fight: Inoue knocked out Ellesmere Port’s Paul Butler in the penultimate round of an undisputed championship 12-rounder in December.
Fulton:
Place Of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Age: 28
Alias: Cool Boy Steph
Record: 21-0 (8)
Height: 5’6½ ’’
Reach: 70½’’
Stance: Orthodox
Last Fight: Fulton outpointed Daniel Roman in June 2022 to retain his unified bantamweight championship.
Full Card:
Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue; For Fulton's WBC and WBO world super bantamweight titles
Robeisy Ramirez vs Satoshi Shimizu; For Ramirez’s WBO featherweight title
Yoshiki Takei vs. Ronnie Baldonado; Super bantamweight
Kanamu Sakama vs. Ryu Horikawa; Light flyweight
Taiga Imanaga vs. Hebi Marapu; Lightweight
Chihiro Iwashita vs. Hiroyuki Takahara; Featherweight
Yuki Kajitani vs. Masato Shinoda; Flyweight
Kenta Yamakawa vs Ryosuke Nakamura; Featherweight
Takero Kitano vs Kenta Kawakami; Minimumweight
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
