Marlon Tapales (left) poses with Bob Arum (2nd from left), whose fighter Naoya Inoue knocked out Steph Fulton to bag the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles Tuesday night in Tokyo. Also in the screengrab is Tapales’s US representative Sean Gibbons (right).
Naoya Inoue crushed Stephen Fulton in the eight round to capture the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization super-bantamweight titles Tuesday night at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.
After having some difficulty finding the target, Inoue landed a right to the jaw of Fulton, who appeared headed to the floor but managed regain his balance.
But it was not for long as Inoue followed it up with a vicious left that sent the American down flat on his back.
He got up but Inoue rained blows on him and another left to the jaw sent him down just as the referee was about to stop the fight.
The win also made Inoue a four-division champion and it is likely that he will attempt to become the undisputed champion at 122 lbs when he battles Filipino Marlon Tapales, who was at ringside and even posed for pictures on top of the ring.
Tapales is the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titleholder.
They are expected to face each other in early-December in Japan.
