Naoya Inoue likes the feeling of being the challenger, at least to a point.
It’s something he hasn’t experienced in more than five years, when he entered the ring for his bantamweight debut versus then-secondary WBA titlist Jamie McDonnell. Inoue needed just 112 seconds to make his mark on a division he would fully unify. The same level of destruction came of his second-round wipeout of Emmanuel Rodriguez, an unbeaten IBF titlist at the time of their May 2010 meeting and the first true step towards Inoue’s undisputed run.
Few if any expect Inoue to enjoy a level of dominance to that degree when he challenges unbeaten WBC/WBO junior featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8KOs). But the personal expectation of the undefeated former three-division champ is to rise to the occasion.
“That’s the point. Being a title challenger highly motivates me,” Inoue told the assembled media during their final pre-fight press conference Saturday in Japan. “I might perform better than in my previous bouts.”
A win by Inoue (24-0, 21KOs) will leave him as Japan’s first-ever boxer to claim unified title status in two weight divisions. He will also become just the nation’s third boxer to win at least one title in four weight divisions, joining Naoko Fujioka and Kazuto Ioka should he prevail in Tuesday’s main event from Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
It will be quite a statement if he is able to surpass the title wins he posted, particularly in the early stages of his bantamweight run.
The 30-year-old from Yokohama went 9-0 with eight knockouts during his four-plus year tour of destruction. The run included wins over four reigning titleholders—Rodriguez, Nonito Donaire twice (for the WBA title and later for the WBC belt) and then Paul Butler last December 13 to become the division’s first undisputed champ in the three- or four-belt era.
Despite the move up to a fourth weight division, Inoue remains a healthy favorite to defeat the visiting Fulton. In fact, the odds have increased in the past few days as bet365 sportsbook now places the pound-for-pound entrant at -400 to prevail over Philadelphia’s Fulton, who is viewed as a +300 underdog to extend a title reign that dates back to his January 2021 points win over Angelo Leo.
“This is my first fight (at 122) and I am ready,” insisted Inoue. “That is why I am highly motivated. I have high expectations for myself. I’m eager to show the type of performance I can deliver.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox