Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue stopped Stephen Fulton in eight rounds to crown himself as the new unified WBO and WBC super bantamweight king on Tuesday night at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
The heavy-hitting Inoue pressured Fulton to fight from close range before flooring the American in Round 8. Smelling blood, the Japanese unloaded a hail of punches to put Fulton out for good 1:14 into the round.
After a two-month delay due to a knuckle injury, Inoue is now a four-division champion.
“Everything I was thinking about this year was to fight him and become a four-division champion,” Inoue said in Boxingscene. “Unfortunately, I hurt myself in training camp and had to wait.”
Fulton had his moments in rounds 3 and 4 when he picked up the pace, but Inoue responded with combination punching that bloodied the American’s nose.
Inoue stunned Fulton with a chopping left hand late in Round 6, followed by a right hand. Fulton tried to rally in the seventh round, but he ended up being walked to the ropes. Inoue landed a body shot but ate a left hook from Fulton in the closing seconds of the round.
In the eighth, Inoue landed a heavy right hand and a vicious left hook that dropped the American. Fulton beat the count but was met by a volley of punches that effectively ended the contest.
Fulton suffered his first career defeat and dropped to 21-1 (8 KOs).
Inoue climbed to 25-0, 22 Kos, and is likely to fight Filipino boxing champion Marlon Tapales, who owns the IBF and WBA versions of the belts.
