Naoya Inoue and Paul Butler contest a massive undisputed fight in Japan today to crown the first undisputed men’s bantamweight champion of boxing’s four-belt era.
It seems like mission impossible in Tokyo for the travelling Briton, who is an enormous underdog as he puts his WBO belt on the line.
The Joe Gallagher-trained Butler is in his second reign as a titlist at 118lbs, having previously held the IBF strap, after being upgraded to full champion following the stripping of John Riel Casimero.
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Two proposed challenges against the Filipino were cancelled in the space of four months, with Butler eventually elevated not long after picking up the interim belt against Jonas Sultan in Liverpool in April.
Butler has the chance to make history in Tokyo, but to do so he will need to pull off an almighty shock of a man they rightly call ‘The Monster’.
The undefeated Inoue has long since established himself as one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best, a three-division world champion who hits as hard as just about anyone, boasting 20 knockouts from 23 professional wins.
Inoue added the WBC belt to his WBA, IBF and The Ring titles in Saitama back in June, when he blitzed Nonito Donaire inside two rounds of their eagerly-awaited rematch to a bloody 2019 war that proved by far his toughest test to date.
Inoue vs Butler date, start time, venue and ring walks
Inoue vs Butler takes place on Tuesday December 13, 2022 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The card is due to start at around 8am GMT. The main event is at approximately 11am GMT. As ever, those timings are subject to change depending on the length of the undercard bouts.
Inoue vs Butler fight card/undercard in full
The card is kicked off by Naoya’s younger brother Takuma Inoue, with Satoshi Shimizu, Andy Hiraoka and Yoshiki Takei then defending lesser titles.
Liverpool’s 2020 Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Peter McGrail is also in action in his sixth professional contest.
Naoya Inoue vs Paul Butler
Peter McGrail vs Hironori Miyake
Yoshiki Takei vs Bruno Tarimo
Andy Hiraoka vs Min Ho Jung
Satoshi Shimizu vs Landy Cris Leon
Takuma Inoue vs Jake Bornea
How to watch Inoue vs Butler
TV channel and live stream: In the United States, Inoue vs Butler is being broadcast live on ESPN+, while it is being shown by dTV, Amazon Prime Video and Hikari TV in Japan.
There is currently no live television coverage scheduled in the UK, while in Australia it is being shown courtesy of subscription service Kayo.
In the UK and Ireland, promoters Top Rank streamed Inoue’s rematch with Donaire live and for free online on their official YouTube page, but there has been no such announcement this time.
LIVE coverage: You can follow live coverage of the entire card with Standard Sport’s live fight blog.
Inoue vs Butler fight prediction
Butler deserves a lot of credit for taking this on, as it is frankly a hopeless task that will surely result in an emphatic early knockout defeat.
The man from Ellesmere Port confidently claims if he has not been stopped inside six rounds, then he will go on to win, believing Donaire showed the blueprint for getting at Inoue in their gruelling first battle by showing him zero respect before coming up short on the cards.
But the chances of a one-sided bout advancing that far seem minute at best, with Inoue fully deserving of his fearsome reputation as a brutal knockout king.
Another vicious KO on home soil is surely on the cards here, the only question is how quickly will it come? We’ll go for round three, which might be very generous.
Inoue vs Butler weigh-in results
Inoue surprisingly needed two attempts to make weight on Monday, first clocking in at 118.1lbs before tipping the scales at 117 3/4 lbs at the second attempt.
Butler, meanwhile, hit the 118lbs bantamweight limit at the first time of asking.
Inoue vs Butler betting odds
Inoue to win: 1/100
Butler to win: 25/1
Draw: 40/1
Inoue to win by KO, TKO or DQ: 1/14
Inoue to win by decision/technical decision: 13/2
Butler to win by KO, TKO or DQ: 55/1
Butler to win by decision/technical decision: 55/1
