Naoya Inoue stopped Paul Bulter this morning to become the first undisputed bantamweight champion of the four-belt era. The Japanese boxer was eventually able to break down his gun-shy foe after a frustrating eleven rounds of action.
Inoue opened up proceedings by pressing the action as Butler circled the ring with a high and tight guard. Aware of the legendary power that the Japanese puncher possesses, Butler was extremely hesitant to throw throughout. At the end of the second, the Brit showed signs of discomfort as Inoue let rip to his body. Inoue continued to level change in round three, but Butler came back with some resistance as he began to find a home for his signature shot – the left hook. But that resistance quickly wilted as Inoue took back full control in rounds four and five.
Coming into the halfway stage, Inoue slowed down the tempo in the hope of making Butler open up in order to present opportunities to counter. The right hand over the top always threatened when Butler popped out his lead jab.
In round seven, a visibly frustrated Inoue beckoned Butler to throw back but the Brit remained in his shell. Round eight saw Butler come out a touch more aggressive but still not enough to nick a round.
Inoue will now look to move up to super bantamweight in the hopes of becoming a four-division world champion. The Monster struggled to make the 118lb bantamweight limit in the lead-up to fight night.
Going forward, Inoue turns his attention toward 122lb champions Stephen Fulton (WBC and WBO), Brandon Figueroa (WBA ‘super’), and Murodjon Akhmadaliev (IBF).
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