Stephen Fulton releases post-fight statement after destructive loss to Naoya Inoue

Stephen Fulton has reacted after his destructive loss at the hands of Naoya Inoue earlier today.

'Cool Boy Steph' ended a year-long hiatus from the ring earlier this morning. Earlier today, the super bantamweight champion faced off with 'The Monster' in Tokyo, Japan. The bout was the first for Inoue up at his new weight class, and he put on a show.

In the super bantamweight title clash earlier today, Naoya Inoue dominated. While Fulton had some minor success early with his speed, he was quickly broken down. In the eighth round, the Japanese boxer closed the show with a massive combination.

Ultimately, the victory made him a four-division champion, and gold up at super-bantamweight. Prior to the fight, Inoue stated his plans to become a unified titleholder at a second weight class. Now, with two titles already, that feat doesn't seem as crazy as it did earlier this year.

For his part, Stephen Fulton released a post-fight statement after the defeat. At the post-fight press conference earlier today, the former super bantamweight champion stated:

“I’m not feeling bad because I’m a champion no matter what. I’m very disappointed in my performance, but I can’t allow that to dictate who I am as a person. I went out like a man, so I hold my head up like a man.”

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Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton: 'The Monster' has a post-fight face-off

Following Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton, 'The Monster' had a high-profile post-fight face-off.

Following his win over Paul Butler last December, the Japanese boxer announced his plans to move up in weight. At the time, Inoue stated that he wanted to become a unified champion in a second weight class, an extremely rare feat.

Earlier today, he scored two of those four titles at super bantamweight by defeating Stephen Fulton. Just minutes after that victory, Naoya Inoue seemingly got his next opponent, as he called out Marlon Tapales. 'Nightmare' was in attendance at the event, and decided to get into the ring.

There, the two super bantamweight champions had a face-off. The moment was a respectful one between Inoue and Tapales, but their next meeting likely won't be as nice. While no timetable has been released for the Japanese boxer's next fight, one can expect him to return this year.

Meanwhile, Marlon Tapales' next fight will be his biggest. In April, he scored a split-decision win over Murodjon Akmadliev to win the WBA (Super) and IBF super bantamweight titles.