“The Monster” demolishes.
Naoya Inoue is called “The Monster” for a reason and he more than showed why Tuesday.
After chipping away at Stephen Fulton for seven rounds, Inoue stab-jabbed the American to the body, changed levels and rocked him with a right across the jaw and dropped him flat on his back with a stunning left hook.
As Fulton rose off the mat in a world of pain, Inoue unloaded an onslaught of violence in the form of unanswered punches to record an eighth-round TKO to become the new unified WBC and WBO junior featherweight world champion in front of his home crowd inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
With the victory, Inoue improves to 25-0 with 22 KOs, snatching two key pieces on his new quest to become super bantamweight world champion. He also hands Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) his first loss.
Inoue essentially made the victory look easy, quickly asserting his jab with pop early and using it to piece together multiple combinations that Fulton didn’t have any answers for. This came despite Inoue being the smaller man who had to move up in weight.
As the rounds went on, Inoue’s firepower only got stronger as he started to drown Fulton out with activity and prisinely-placed power punches until he decided on the opportune time to strike toward an eighth-round stoppage.
Here’s how the entire Inoue-Fulton main card went.
INOUE CRUSHES FULTON WITH EIGHTH-ROUND TKO TO BECOME NEW UNIFIED BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMP! 25m ago 08:39 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Inoue delivers a stab jab and another. Inoue stabs to the body with a left jab and clocks Fulton’s jaw with a sharp right. Fulton’s hurt! Inoue gives chase and buries him with a left hook! Fulton is laid out flat on his back. Oh my goodness! Fulton makes it off the mat but is badly hurt! Inoue swarms him with an onslaught of punches and the ref steps in to stop it. Inoue gets the TKO to become the new WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion of the world!
FULTON VS. INOUE; ROUND 7 28m ago 08:36 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Check hook from Inoue keeps Fulton at bay. But the champ returns fire with a hook around Inoue’s guard. Inoue now bursts forward with a flurry, briefly catching Fulton against the ropes. Right hand lands for Inoue but the champ comes back with a counter left. Close round, but one that Inoue just edges him out on. (10-9 Inoue, 69-64 Inoue) FULTON VS. INOUE; ROUND 6 32m ago 08:32 PM facebook twitter whatsapp A slashing counter right lands for Inoue and he executed it right over Fulton’s jab. Inoue is punching and moving brilliantly. A left-right-right uppercut combination from Inoue just dazzles. A four-punch combination connects with a bang — all while Inoue fights forward. Fulton misses with an overhand right and gets blasted with a short left flush to the face. (10-9 Inoue, 59-55 Inoue) FULTON VS. INOUE; ROUND 5 37m ago 08:27 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Fulton has got to use his movement a bit more as Inoue is really piecing together these power combinations now. A left-right combination pops Inoue’s head back in what was Fulton’s best output yet. But Inoue storms back with a combo of his own. And now Fulton lands another sharp right hand. (10-9 Fulton, 49-46 Inoue) FULTON VS. INOUE; ROUND 4 41m ago 08:22 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Inoue with two heavy-handed rights to the head to open this round. Inoue meets an incoming Fulton with a short left hook and he may have clipped the champ with an elbow there. But Fulton shows no effects, stepping into a crisp left hand to pepper Inoue with. A right-left splits Fulton’s guard and draws more blood from the champ’s nose. (10-9 Inoue, 40-36 Inoue) FULTON VS. INOUE; ROUND 3 45m ago 08:19 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Fulton counters sharply, grazing Inoue with a left. But Inoue is really increasing his activity as he lands a right over the top of the champ, then briefly makes him backpedal with a compact left hook. A left to the body, right upstairs is crisp from Inoue. The body-head combination is working for Inoue and he’s doing it with speed and accuracy. He closes out the round launching a right uppercut and you can see blood coming from the champ’s nose. (10-9 Inoue, 30-27 Inoue) FULTON VS. INOUE; ROUND 2 49m ago 08:15 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Inoue uncorks that right hand and then delivers a four-punch combination, ending with some crunching body work. Inoue is fighting forward in spurts. Fulton with a body jab that Inoue nods off. Inoue changes levels, going from the body to upstairs, making each shot count. Inoue is giving chase where he double jabs with the left and fires off on a heavier right. (10-9 Inoue, 20-18 Inoue) STEPHEN FULTON VS. NAOYA INOUE; ROUND 1 53m ago 08:10 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Fulton is the bigger man as the two get final directions before the opening bell. There’s the bell and we’re underway. We can already see a battle for real estate with each fighter using his lead leg to establish ring room. They’re practically stepping on each other’s feet, trying to get that space. An up jab lands for Inoue and he puts a solid jab behind that moments later. Inoue is more active as he gives chase to the champion. They’re in the clinch where Inoue is still the busier fighter. (10-9 Inoue) THE CHAMP IS HERE 1h ago 08:00 PM facebook twitter whatsapp “Cool Boy Steph” Stephen Fulton (21-0 with 8 KOs) makes his way to the ring with his WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles in tow.
HERE COMES “THE MONSTER” 1h ago 07:57 PM facebook twitter whatsapp Naoya Inoue (24-0 with 21 KOs) looks to become a unified super bantamweight champion.
DELAY EXPLAINED 1h ago 07:52 PM facebook twitter whatsapp ESPN is reporting that Stephen Fulton has informed officials that his entrance is going to be delayed a bit. The question is … why?
