The Super Bantamweight clash between former undisputed Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and current unified 122-pounder Stephen Fulton has been re-scheduled for July 25th. Inoue confirmed so himself through his own social media outlets. The news comes just a week after Inoue was forced to pull out of the slated May 7th fight with Fulton after suffering a hand injury in training.
“The postponed WBC/WBO world super bantamweight title match has been decided on July 25th (Tuesday) at Ariake Arena.” Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21 KO’s), 29, stated on his Twitter account.
“We thank the Fulton camp and everyone involved for accepting the postponement, and promise the best preparation and the best match! And I will definitely win. Please provide some support. Naoya Inoue.” The message closes.
Stephen Fulton seemed none too bothered at the prospect of his fight date with Inoue moving in the bloom of Summer, as he remarked on his Twitter account that July 25th would be a “fun watch” for boxing fans. He also pointed out that he was excited to fight in Tokyo, as he prophesized that the venue was made for him to succeed.
The match was previously supposed to be held at the Yokohama Arena in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, but it has now been moved to the Ariake Arena in Tokyo which is familiar home ground for Naoya Inoue who fought at Ariake in his previous Bantamweight match against Paul Butler (34-3, 15 KO’s) where he became undisputed.
After his fight with Butler, Inoue vacated all his titles at Bantamweight to move up to 122 lbs to face one of the division’s unified champions in Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8 KO’s) on May 7th. Last week, however, Inoue cited he had to pull out of his fight with Fulton due to suffering an injury, but clearly both fighters’ teams have quickly commenced to seek a suitable re-arrangement of their bout, which is now set for Tuesday, July 25th.
Stephen Fulton, 28, is the holder of the WBC and WBO Super Bantamweight since defeating former American WBC champion – and then unbeaten – Brandon Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KO’s) in November of 2021. Fulton conquered the WBO title to become a world champion for the first time of his career in the match before Figueroa. On January 23rd in 2021, Stephen Fulton defeated American prospect Angelo Leo (21-1, 9 KO’s) – who had also been undefeated prior to facing Fulton.
Pound-for-pound fighter Naoya Inoue is now expected to make a full recovery before going into training camp once more, and Stephen Fulton is not expected to take a fight in the interim while he will continue to prepare himself accordingly before heading into camp again.
