| |
|
|
Naoya Inoue Ices Stephen Fulton In 8
Photos: Naoki Fukuda
That's a wrap.
Naoya Inoue, the pound-4-pound great from Japan, knocked
out WBC/WBO junior featherweight world champion Stephen
Fulton in the eighth round Tuesday at Ariake Arena in
Tokyo, Japan. Inoue is now a four-weight world champion
and is 20-0 in world title fights.
“Everything I was thinking about was to fight him this
year,” Inoue said. “However, unfortunately, I got
injured, and I had to postpone this fight. I am sorry to
my team and Fulton’s team, but thank you so much for
accepting this fight once again. I am so happy right
now.”
Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs) kept Fulton at bay in the opening
round, peppering the Philadelphia native with a stinging
jab. Soon enough, Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) was in retreat
mode, and Inoue marched forward. Fulton kept his guard
high as Inoue winged left hooks and right hands. In the
seventh round, Fulton had small pockets of success, but
Inoue came out in round eight intent on blunting his
momentum.
Inoue knocked down Fulton with a right-left combination,
and when Fulton rose to his feet, "The Monster" went in
for the finish. With Fulton pinned against the ropes,
Inoue unleashed a blistering combination, punctuated by
a fight-finishing left hook.
El Tren Defends Crown
"El Tren" traveled halfway around the world and authored
a devastating performance. In his first title defense,
WBO featherweight world champion Robeisy Ramirez
dominated Japanese challenger Satoshi Shimizu en route
to a fifth-round TKO.
The two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist had little
trouble figuring out Shimizu (11-2, 10 KOs), a two-time
Olympian who had won three straight fights entering his
first world title opportunity. Ramirez (13-1, 8 KOs)
stayed in the pocket against his taller foe, ripping
Shimizu with uppercuts and right hooks around his high
guard.
In the fifth, Ramirez floored Shimizu with a left
uppercut. Shimizu rose from the canvas with a bloody
nose and had no answer for the follow-up flurry. A pair
of right hooks, followed by a crunching left, forced
referee Ramon Pena to step in and halt the one-way
beating.
Ramirez said,"This was a tremendous experience. It is a
blessing to be able to demonstrate my talent in a
stadium full of people and in this part of the world. I
am grateful and happy. The job is done.
"Now I set my sights on a world title unification clash.
I am ready to go to Japan, Scotland, England, Mexico,
wherever we have to fight. I will always be available to
do my job"
Junior Featherweights: Yoshiki Takei (7-0 7 KOs) TKO 8
Ronnie Baldonado (16-5-1, 9 KOs), 1:08.
Light Flyweights: Kanamu Sakama (8-0 7 KOs) TKO 8 Ryu
Horikawa (3-2-2, 1 KO), 2:40.
|
|
|
