By Vince D’Writer: The year 2023 has been a great year for boxing fans, and on Tuesday, July 25th, another highly anticipated matchup will take place as undefeated WBC/WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton will defend his unified title against the undefeated challenger Naoya Inoue.
Instead of the traditional Saturday night boxing telecast, this blockbuster event will take place on Tuesday at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. For fight fans in the United States, the fight card start time will be 4:30 a.m. ET, with the main event ring walks taking place at approximately 8 a.m. ET. live on ESPN+.
The defending champion Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) has traveled over 6,000 miles to face the biggest challenge of his professional boxing career. Fulton believes in his abilities, and he’s confident he will leave Tokyo, Japan, with his titles in hand.
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stephen Fulton made his debut back in October 2014, and after reeling off 18 straight victories in a seven-year span, Fulton finally received his chance to fight for a world title. He took advantage of his opportunity as he scored a unanimous decision victory over Angelo Leo and won the WBO super bantamweight title in January 2021.
Six months later, Fulton would collect another title as he beat Brandon Figueroa by majority decision and won the WBC super bantamweight strap. He had a successful title defense in June 2022, and now he’s ready to defend his unified title for a second time, but this time he faces an opponent who some consider to be the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs) is Nicknamed “The Monster” for a reason, as 21 of his 24 victories are a result of a knockout. He achieved instant success as he won the WBC light-flyweight title in only his sixth professional bout back in April 2014.
For the next nine years of his pro boxing career, Inoue would proceed to win and collect world championship belts. The 30-year-old is a three-division world champion who became undisputed in the bantamweight division.
Now Naoya Inoue will attempt to conquer another weight class, and it all starts with a clash against the WBC/WBO super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton. On July 25th, Inoue will face a man who is highly skilled, and he’s also a pound-for-pound talent.
The 29-year-old Stephen Fulton is a slick boxer who has all the tools. He has the speed, technical skills, the defense, and the high ring IQ. Naoya Inoue is a front foot type of fighter who sets up his offense by utilizing intelligent pressure. He has power in both hands, he’s quick, and he’s very good at using angles.
The hard-hitting challenger Naoya Inoue is fighting at home, and he is the betting favorite, but the champion Stephen Fulton is naturally the bigger man, and he possesses the ability to outbox Inoue over the course of 12-rounds.
We are less than 24 hours away from one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year as two premier boxers who are both in the prime of their careers will face each other inside of the squared circle. The Fulton vs. Inoue matchup is a high-stakes match that is the classic boxer vs. puncher type of bout.
The clash for WBC/WBO super-bantamweight championship has the potential to be an instant classic. It features two of the best boxers in the world facing each other, and it also possesses that factor of at the end of the night, somebody’s 0 has got to go.
