Naoya Inoue vs Stephen Fulton Jr Announced for May 7 in Japan
Naoya “The Monster” Inoue’s super bantamweight debut bout is officially announced.
Top Rank announced that Stephen Fulton Jr will defend his WBC & WBO super-bantamweight titles against Naoya Inoue on May 7 at the Yokohama Arena in Japan.
It will be Naoya’s first bout after vacating the bantamweight titles earlier this year in June. After a few days, he started negotiating with Stephen Fulton Jr for a super bantamweight bout.
Now, the bout for the unified super bantamweight title is officially confirmed. Lemino will broadcast this bout domestically whereas ESPN+ will have its global distribution rights.
Naoya Inoue became the undisputed bantamweight champion by defeating Paul Butler last year in December. However, he vacated the titles on January 13, 2023, as he aimed to become the champion at 122 pounds.
On the other hand, Stephen Fulton Jr had his last match in June 2022 where he defeated Daniel Roman via unanimous decision.
Naoya Inoue is the first-ever Japanese boxer to reach the no. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. Now, The Monster will get another chance to prove himself as he faces his toughest opponent so far on May 7.
