Naoya “Monster” Inoue conquered the bantamweight division. He’s now shifting up in weight to seize the most important fish at 122 kilos.
Philadelphia’s WBC & WBO junior featherweight world champion, Stephen Fulton, will defend his titles in opposition to Japan’s pound-for-pound king Sunday, Could 7, at Yokohama Area in Yokohama, Japan. The showdown pits two of the world’s prime fighters, as Inoue goals to turn out to be solely the fifth Asian boxer to win world titles in 4 weight courses.
Fulton-Inoue and undercard bouts will stream dwell and solely within the U.S. on ESPN+ in a particular early-morning presentation.
Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs) is 19-0 with 17 knockouts in world title fights, a championship run that began in 2014 when he knocked out Adrian Hernandez for the WBC gentle flyweight world title. He went on to rule the junior bantamweight division with seven title defenses, together with a second-round stoppage over Omar Narvaez. At bantamweight, Inoue turned the division’s first undisputed champion in a half-century, stopping Emmanuel Rodriguez in two rounds to win the IBF strap, outlasting Nonito Donaire within the 2019 Struggle of the Yr so as to add the WBA belt, starching Donaire within the second spherical of their June 2022 rematch to grab the WBC title, and stopping then-WBO champion Paul Butler within the eleventh spherical. Inoue vacated all 4 bantamweight titles to maneuver up 4 kilos for a shot at “Cool Boy Steph.”
Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) turned professional in 2014 and defeated 5 undefeated prospects in his first 12 bouts. In January 2021, he defeated Angelo Leo to seize the WBO junior featherweight world title. Ten months later, he added the WBC belt to his assortment with a majority choice over then-unbeaten Brandon Figueroa in one of many yr’s most action-packed championship showdowns. Fulton defended each titles final June with a one-sided unanimous choice over former unified world champion Daniel Roman. Fulton will enter the Inoue bout, his first away from American soil, coming off an 11-month layoff. The 28-year-old Fulton, nevertheless, is the naturally greater man, holding benefits in top and attain.
