Naoya Inoue continues to amaze the boxing world.
Inoue found himself in the challenger position earlier today (July 25) in Japan. He was competing for Stephen Fulton’s WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles. Inoue had already reigned supreme in three divisions, capturing titles in all of them. He has added even more gold to what has already been a Hall of Fame career.
Fulton recognized right away that the jab of Inoue was highly effective. He also realized that Inoue’s punching power remained intact despite moving up in weight. Fulton had no answer for his opponent, and things would unravel in the eighth round.
Naoya Inoue Stops Stephen Fulton
Inoue stunned Fulton with a right hand and followed that up with a left that dropped him. As Inoue jumped to the ropes Felix “Tito” Trinidad style to celebrate, Fulton slowly made his way back to his feet. It was clear that Fulton was dazed and Inoue capitalized. “The Monster” dropped Fulton again and the fight was stopped.
Here are some highlights from Inoue’s spectacular super bantamweight title win:
That's a WRAP.@NaoyaInoue_410 x #FultonInoue pic.twitter.com/cnxig626LU
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 25, 2023
THE SLOW-MO SHOT 🥶@NaoyaInoue_410 | #FultonInoue pic.twitter.com/X605OPAbuq
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 25, 2023
The Monster's destruction from ringside ⚔️@NaoyaInoue_410 | #FultonInoue pic.twitter.com/0RYvJNmSZ2
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 25, 2023
Besides winning gold in a fourth weight class, there was also some bragging rights for Inoue. Just a few days before the fight, Fulton’s trainer accused Inoue of illegal hand wrapping. The trainer even threatened to pull Fulton out of the fight if their standards on the hand wraps weren’t met. Inoue satisfied those standards and proceeded to beat Fulton from pillar to post.
The general consensus is that if Terence Crawford isn’t the number one boxer on the pound-for-pound list, it’s Inoue. That’s saying a lot on a list that features all-time great Canelo Alvarez and heavyweight champions Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.
As for Fulton, this was the first loss of his pro boxing career, and it was a rough one. It’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back down the line.
