Naoya Inoue has his next title fight set. The long rumored and discussed matchup with Stephen Fulton Jr. is now official as the two will meet on Sunday, May 7 in Yokohama, Japan, Top Rank Boxing announced.
Inoue, who achieved undisputed status at bantamweight, will move up to 122 pounds in pursuit of more gold as Fulton will stake his WBC and WBC titles in the mammoth matchup.
Inoue, 29, is considered among the pound-for-pound best fighters on the planet. The Japanese bantamweight smashed through everything in his path at 118 pounds, claiming all four recognized titles in the division in three years. Inoue destroyed Nonito Donaire in their rematch in 2022 to claim the WBC title. Their first meeting was an instant classic as Donaire pushed Inoue to the limit and caused a broken orbital bone in the fight. Inoue then completed the set by stopping Paul Butler in December for the WBO crown.
OFFICIAL 🚨@NaoyaInoue_410 will challenge @CoolBoySteph for the Unified Junior Featherweight titles 🏆🏆#FultonInoue | MAY 7 | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/p94HKWXXY9
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) March 6, 2023
Fulton, meanwhile, has been nothing short of impressive in his run to capture the titles at 122 pounds. He took a majority decision off Brandon Figueroa in November 2021, a fight that earned recognition in the Fight of the Year debate. Fulton followed that up with a unanimous decision win over Daniel Roman in June 2022.
