One of the year's most anticipated fight takes place on Tuesday, July 25th, live on ESPN+ from the Ariake Arena in Koto-Ku, Japan. Unified super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton Jr. (21-0, 8 KOs) puts his titles on the line against ‘The Monster’ Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs). This fight is one for the ages, and the former undisputed bantamweight champion Inoue is moving up in an attempt to capture more gold in a new weight class. However, Fulton Jr. demands respect and has traveled to Japan to get it and prove that he should be considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
The champion ‘Cool Boy Steph’ has been overlooked for a while, but his run of beating undefeated fighters and former champions goes back to 2019. Although the lower-weight classes do not get the press that others do, Fulton Jr. strongly argues that his time is now and everyone should pay attention. Fulton Jr. could have moved up to featherweight and avoided Inoue but he took the challenge and has flown thousands of miles to prove he is one of the best in the sport.
Inoue has been a wrecking ball since making his debut in 2012. He has dominated division after division and is moving up to see if his dominance extends to super bantamweight. In the lower weight classes, although from the surface we look at a few pounds not being a major issue, four pounds can mean a world of a difference. Yes, Inoue has dominated so far, but the leap from bantamweight to super bantamweight is a big one, and there is plenty to think about when considering how this fight will play out. Will Inoue capture more gold, or is Fulton Jr. the guy we all think he is, and that’s a pound-for-pound fighter?
六本木メトロハットでも広告がスタート#超えろ pic.twitter.com/oHQIRlOjVQ
— 井上尚弥 Naoya Inoue (@naoyainoue_410) July 18, 2023
STEPHEN FULTON JR. VS. NAOYA INOUE BETTING ODDS
Per BetOnline.ag, Naoya Inoue is the favorite at -325 (Under 10 ½ rounds -105), and the champion Stephen Fulton Jr. is the underdog at +250 (Over 10 ½ rounds -125).
STEPHEN FULTON JR. VS. NAOYA INOUE FIGHT DATE, START TIME
- Date: Tuesday, July 25
- Time: 4:30 a.m. ET / 1:30 a.m. PT
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 7:30 a.m. ET / 4:30 a.m. PT
These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights.
WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS STEPHEN FULTON JR. VS. NAOYA INOUE?
- U.S.: ESPN+
- UK: Sky Sports
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 17, 2023
STEPHEN FULTON JR. VS. NAOYA INOUE FIGHT CARD
- Stephen Fulton Jr. vs. Naoya Inoue for the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles
- Robeisy Ramirez vs. Satoshi Shimizu for the WBO featherweight title
- Chihiro Iwashita vs. Hiroyuki Takahara; super-featherweight
- Kanamu Sakama vs. Ryu Horikawa; super-flyweight
- Taiga Imanaga vs. Hebi Marapu; lightweight
- Yoshiki Takei vs. Ronnie Baldonado; super-bantamweight
- Yuki Kajitani vs. Masato Shinoda; super-flyweight
- Kenta Yamakawa vs. Ryosuke Nakamura; featherweight
- Takero Kitano vs. Kenta Kawakami; featherweight
