Naoya Inoue vs. Paul Butler

Naoya Inoue vs. Paul Butler, billed as Undisputed, was a bantamweight unification professional boxing match contested between WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and The Ring champion, Naoya Inoue, and WBO champion, Paul Butler. Inoue knocked out Butler and became the undisputed bantamweight champion and the first since Enrique Pinder beat Rafael Herrera in 1972. The bout took place on 13 December 2022, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.[1][2]

Undisputed
Date13 December 2022
VenueAriake Arena, Tokyo, Japan
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring bantamweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Naoya Inoue Paul Butler
Nickname The Monster Baby Faced Assassin
Hometown Zama, Kanagawa, Japan Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England
Pre-fight record 23–0 (20 KO) 34–2 (15 KO)
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight 117.9 lb (53 kg) 118 lb (54 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and The Ring bantamweight champion
The Ring No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
3-division world champion		 WBO bantamweight champion
Result
Inoue wins via 11th round TKO

Background

Naoya Inoue emerged as the winner of the 2018–19 World Boxing Super Series, when he defeated WBA (Super) champion Nonito Donaire in the final via unanimous decision on 7 November 2019 to unify the WBA (Super), IBF and The Ring bantamweight titles.[3] Inoue would defend his unified titles three times – against challengers Jason Moloney, Michael Dasmariñas and Aran Dipaen – before facing Donaire, who had since won the WBC title, in a rematch on 7 June 2022. Inoue prevailed via second-round technical knockout to unify three of the four major world titles in the bantamweight division and retain his undefeated record.[4]

John Riel Casimero had captured the WBO bantamweight title on 30 November 2019 with a third-round technical knockout victory over Zolani Tete,[5] and a unification clash between Inoue and Casimero had been scheduled for 25 April 2020; however, the fight was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Casimero reigned as the WBO champion until 4 May 2022, when he was stripped by the WBO after twice failing to defend the title against mandatory challenger Paul Butler.[7] Butler, who had defeated Jonas Sultan via unanimous decision twelve days earlier to win the WBO interim title, was elevated to become the full WBO champion, making him a two-time bantamweight champion, having previously held the IBF title in 2014.[8]

Fight card
Main card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Bantamweight Naoya Inoue (c) def. Paul Butler (c) TKO 11/12 1:09 [lower-alpha 1]
Super Lightweight Andy Hiraoka (c) def. Min Ho Jung TKO 8/12 2:06 [lower-alpha 2]
Super Bantamweight Yoshiki Takei (c) def. Bruno Tarimo TKO 11/12 2:17 [lower-alpha 3]
Super Bantamweight Peter McGrail def. Hironori Miyake KO 2/8 2:00
Featherweight Takuma Inoue def. Jake Bornea TKO 8/10 2:48
Featherweight Satoshi Shimizu def. Landy Cris Leon RTD 2/8 3:00
  1. For WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring bantamweight titles
  2. For WBO Asia Pacific super lightweight title
  3. For OPBF super bantamweight title

Broadcasting
Country/Region Free-to-air Cable/Satellite PPV Stream
 Japan (host) — dTV
 United States — ESPN+
 Australia — Main Event, Kayo

References
  1. "Sources: Inoue, Butler agree to title bout in Japan". ESPN.com. 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  2. "Sources: Inoue-Butler Undisputed Clash To Land At Ariake Arena in Tokyo". boxingscene.com. 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. Gray, Tom (2022-06-06). "Naoya Inoue versus Nonito Donaire 1: Perfect bantamweight combat". The Ring. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  4. "Naoya Inoue sends out warning to rivals with vicious stoppage win over Nonito Donaire | DAZN News UK". DAZN. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  5. Donovan, Jake. "Casimero Crushes Zolani Tete in Three, Captures WBO Title". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  6. Trinidad, Recah (2020-03-18). "No Casimero vs Inoue in April". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  7. Giongco, Mark (2022-05-04). "John Riel Casimero stripped of WBO bantamweight title". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  8. Donovan, Jake. "John Riel Casimero Stripped Of WBO Bantamweight Title; Paul Butler Elevated From 'Interim' To 'Full' Champ". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
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