INOUE VS. BUTLER RESULTS & VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Tokyo, Japan (December 15th, 2022)—- Naoya Inoue is now the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world, after knocking out Paul Butler on body shots in the 11th round.
Butler, who came in defending the WBO title against Inoue’s WBC, WBA, and IBF belts, stayed in survival mode throughout the bout. Butler looked very game early, but once Inoue (24-0, 21 KO) displayed his speed and power, Butler (34-3, 15 KO) became very tentative, and to be fair to him, also came in with the clear game plan to not get run over early, staying defensively responsible.
Butler also ate many body shots along the way that probably could have stopped other opponents, and have in the past. As the rounds wore on, past the fifth or so, Inoue became confident, daring Butler to actually throw back and give him some openings. At one point, he put his hands behind his back and sticking his chin out. Butler was not able to capitalize and was tentative the rest of the bout.
In the 11th, Inoue put serious pressure again, and body shots stopped the UK fighter. The fight was stopped at 1:09 of round 11, technically a TKO because the referee didn’t complete the 10-count, but it was a proper knockout.
“I finally became the undisputed bantamweight world champion,” Inoue said via interpreter. “It’s been a long journey for me. I was able to make this goal of becoming undisputed world champion. Now, I’m considering going up to super bantamweight.”
Inoue expressed appreciation to Butler for coming to Japan and giving him the chance for an undisputed title fight.
Inoue plans to go up to 122 lbs now, which means he will most likely vacate all four belts. Butler will most likely get a chance to fight for the 118lb belts later on in the future. Check out the video highlights below and comment below if you feel Inoue is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world or not.
Full results:
Main Card
- Undisputed bantamweight championship: Naoya Inoue TKO-11 Paul Butler
- Andy Hiraoka TKO-8 Min Ho Jung
- Yoshiki Takei TKO-11 Bruno Tarimo
- Takuma Inoue TKO-8 Jake Borne
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