Paul Butler said he “fears no one” as the underdog prepared to face Japan’s unbeaten Naoya Inoue in Tokyo today to become undisputed bantamweight world champion.
WBO champion Butler is attempting to do what no other boxer who has faced Inoue has managed so far — beat one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters and take his WBC, WBA and IBF belts.
“Monster” Inoue has won all his 23 fights, 20 by knockout, and became the first Japanese boxer to top The Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings as the best fighter across all weight divisions earlier this year.
Photo: AFP
Butler (34-2 with 15 knockouts) said he was not daunted by the prospect of facing Inoue on home turf and was happy with his preparations after making the weight yesterday.
“He’s a man — he’s a man with two arms and legs,” the 34-year-old Englishman said. “What he does in the ring is what he does, but I fear no one. It’s a thing I’m looking forward to, getting in there and challenging myself.”
The winner of today’s bout will become the first undisputed bantamweight world champion since the four-belt era began in 2004.
“It’s a massive achievement so it would mean a lot,” Butler said. “It would mean a lot to do it in front of my fans who have all traveled to Japan. It would be a great accomplishment.”
Inoue failed to make weight on his first attempt, before returning minutes later and squeezing in under the limit.
The 29-year-old shrugged off the misstep and said he remained laser-focused on completing his bantamweight title collection with Butler’s WBO belt.
“I have lots of different strategies, and I’ll get into the ring and then I’ll decide how to play it on instinct,” Inoue said. “Butler’s tactics are by and large quite fixed, but nothing is pre-decided with my boxing. I’ll decide how to attack after I face up to him.”
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