Stephen Fulton and Naoya Inoue have now scheduled a new date for their super-bantamweight title fight after the disappointment of the initial postponement.
At a time when boxing’s biggest fights are seemingly impossible to make, the willingness to fight and determination for legacy of both Fulton and Inoue cannot be questioned.
The undefeated duo were set to square off on May 7 in what looked to be one of the fights of the year on paper, however an injury to the Japanese phenomenon caused the bout to be pushed back.
Sky Sports have confirmed that Fulton will defend his WBC and WBO 122lb titles against the undisputed bantamweight champion on the new date of July 25 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Much has been said of Inoue’s relentless move up through the weight divisions, beginning his professional career at light-flyweight and aiming to become a four-division world champion in his upcoming contest.
And Fulton’s mindset has also been praised as he prepares to travel to the challenger’s home country to defend his titles.
‘Cool Boy Steph’ has built up a reputation of being a slick, hard-to-hit fighter, proving to be head-and-shoulders above the rest of his super-bantamweight competitors, building a record of 21-0 and making two defences of his WBO title since winning the belt in 2021.
Meanwhile, Inoue has a record of 24-0, renowned for being one of the pound-for-pound hardest punchers in the sport, with an astonishing seventeen knockouts in his nineteen back-to-back world title fights. Although it is yet to be seen if that power will translate into his new weight class.
It is likely that an undisputed title fight with Murodjon Akhmadaliev awaits the winner, as both men look to improve upon their already successful careers. Fulton-Inoue will be available to watch live on ESPN+ in the US and Sky Sports in the UK.