Naoya inoue delivered another reminder of why he has been regarded for years as among the best pound-for-pound fighters.
The latest instance came in a fight week that features championships between four of the best fighters in the world spanning two continents. Inoue handled his business in stellar fashion, as he dethroned previously unbeaten WBC/WBO junior featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton via eighth round stoppage.
VIDEO 👇
NAOYA INOUE KNOCKS DOWN STEPHEN FULTON THEN WINS BY TKO 😳 pic.twitter.com/wyzuBySjYY
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) July 25, 2023
Inoue floored Fulton moments before offering a final volley of punches to force the stoppage at 1:14 of round eight Tuesday from Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Inoue made history in the same venue just seven months ago, when he stopped Paul Butler in the eleventh-round to fully unify the bantamweight divisions. All four titles were vacated one month later, as Inoue was determined to claim title status in a fourth weight division.
He entered Tuesday’s bout as the naturally smaller foe but Inoue immediately took away that edge. Fulton was tight from the outset and outboxed throughout their twelve-round affair. Inoue was steady with his jab and a bit overzealous with his power shots in an opening round that saw Fulton mostly play defense.
Inoue continued to force the action at close range. Even the best early moments provided by Fulton were trumped by his challenger, such a right hand that landed behind Inoue’s jab but was immediately met with a left hook in round three.
Fulton slowly picked up his punch output in rounds three and four. Inoue responded with combination punching, including a textbook one-two down the middle late in the fourth round as blood continued to trickle from Fulton’s nose.
A footwork adjustment saw Fulton land a right hand early in round five. Inoue responded with a right hand of his own to back up the visiting titlist. Fulton went back on the move as Inoue attempted to time him with his jab both upstairs and straight down the middle to the body,
Inoue briefly stunned Fulton with a chopping left hand late in round six, followed by a right hand. Fulton attempted to turn the tide in round seven after being shut out through the first half. He landed a right hand over the top but it was immediately met with a response from Inoue who walked down Fulton to the ropes. Inoue landed a body shot but left himself open for a left hook by Fulton in the closing seconds of the round.
It was the last gasp for Fulton, who was shut down moments later.
Fulton suffered his first career defeat as he fell to 21-1 (8KOs). The setback ended his 30-month title reign dating back to his January 2021 WBO junior featherweight title win over then-unbeaten Angelo Leo. Fulton unified the WBO and WBC belts in his next fight, as he claimed a majority decision over an undefeated Brandon Figueroa in the BoxingScene.com 2021 Fight of the Year.
The defeat trailed a thirteen-month ring absence, largely due to Fulton’s desire to only face the best rather than settle for a random title defense. Fulton traveled abroad for what was by far his best payday to date but will return to the U.S. without his undefeated record or titles intact.
The latter now belong to Inoue (25-0, 22KOs) who continues to add to his incredible career already destined for the Hall of Fame. The pound-for-pound entrant became Japan’s first-ever boxer to claim unified title status in two weight divisions.
By Jake Donovan