Top Rank confirmed that Pound for Pound star Naoya Inoue’s latest attempt at claiming unified world titles is on hold due to an injury.
Releasing a statement on the current status of a clash with super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton, Top Rank bosses will work on a new date.
Inoue had hoped to begin another historic run at a record-breaking undisputed title. However, the setback will be a temporary roadblock until his ailment heals.
Naoya Inoue vs Stephen Fulton
“Stephen Fulton‘s WBO/WBC super bantamweight world title defense against Naoya Inoue — originally scheduled for Sunday, May 7, at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan — has been postponed due to a training injury suffered by Inoue,” said Top Rank.
“Fulton vs Inoue will be rescheduled for July, with a new date to be announced in due course. The main event and undercard bouts will stream live exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.”
Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) will make his third-world title defense and second as a unified champion since defeating Brandon Figueroa in one of the best fights of 2021.
Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs), the sport’s Asian pound-for-pound king, is a three-division world champion. He is making his 122lb debut after defeating Paul Butler last December to become the undisputed bantamweight world champion.
The winner of Fulton vs Inoue will be in line for a mammoth four-belt battle with Murodjon Akhmadaliev. He holds the WBA and IBF versions,
Vietnam
Meanwhile, Vietnam has been developing good events by the hand of WBA Asia in the last months, and this Saturday, March 25, they will have the most special one until now, with three fights with continental titles at stake.
The Saigon Sports Club in Ho Chi Minh City will be the venue that will host this great event. The featured fight will be local Huu Toan Lee, who will make the second defense of his WBA Asia minimumweight title against Filipino Garen Diagan in an exciting bout.
Another fight that will feature the WBA Asian title will be the one that will put a face to face the Vietnamese Dinh Hoang Truong defending his super middleweight belt against the Korean Dae Hyun Baek.
Finally, homegrown Ngoc Hai Nguyen will face Thai veteran Campee Phayom for the super lightweight belt.
The event will have other exciting bouts with Asian talents in the ring. WBA Asia continues to expand across the continent and does events to develop boxing.
