“I haven’t been a challenger in five years, and that has heightened my motivation as well. I think I will be able to perform better than before,” Naoya Inoue said before Tuesday’s showdown with Stephen Fulton Jr.
As it turns out, Inoue was able to back up his words and put together a performance that was arguably the best of his career. Through eight rounds, Inoue was able to use a destructive combination of speed and power to stop the previously unbeaten fighter in his tracks. The Japanese champion was able to knock Fulton Jr. down once before putting the referee to stop the fight in the second half of the eighth round.
Having captured two of the four major belts in the super bantamweight division, Naoya Inoue is looking to become the undisputed champion of the weight class. In order to to achieve this, he must take down the newly-crowned unified champion, Marlon Tapales.
“I want to be undisputed champion by the end of the year,” he said after the fight.
“That is something I really want to do.”
