Inoue vs Butler LIVE!
Japan’s Naoya Inoue is celebrating becoming the first undisputed men’s bantamweight world champion of the four-belt era in Tokyo this morning. One of the best and most feared boxers on the planet made history after a late stoppage victory over Britain’s Paul Butler that saw him add the WBO belt at 118lbs to his WBA, WBC and IBF collection at Ariake Arena.
Undefeated pound-for-pound phenom Inoue is a fearsome knockout artist who now boasts 21 stoppages in a 24-fight career that has already brought world titles in three different weight classes. Butler was a massive underdog who managed to frustrate his superstar opponent for long spells with defensive tactics, only for his utter dominance to win out in a spiteful 11th-round finish.
The ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ was in his second world title reign after being promoted to full champion earlier this year after John Riel Casimero was stripped, having initially won the interim gold after against Jonas Sultan in April. Takuma Inoue, Yoshiki Takei and Satoshi Shimizu all notched up wins on the undercard, along with 2020 Olympian Peter McGrail and Andy Hiraoka. Follow today’s boxing reaction from Japan with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below!
