Who will Naoya Inoue fight next? 'The Monster' has face-off after win over Stephen Fulton

Moments after Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton, 'The Monster' got his next likely opponent.

The Japanese boxer made his return to the ring in Tokyo earlier today. There, Inoue moved up to super bantamweight for the first time in his career against Stephen Fulton. 'Cool Boy Steph' was expected to be his biggest challenge in years.

Instead, the super bantamweight champion was dominated like the rest. Earlier today, Inoue scored a highlight-reel eighth-round knockout victory, giving him two championships in his new weight class. However, holding the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles, he called out Marlon Tapales.

'Nightmare' was in attendance at the event, and took to the ring for an impromptu face-off. If the fight with Inoue, it'll be the biggest battle of Tapales' career thus far. For his part, the 31-year-old is coming off a split-decision win over Murodjon Akhmadliev.

For that fight, he was a massive underdog, but still pulled out the decision win. However, his next task will be a herculean one, as he attempts to hand Naoya Inoue the first loss of his career. While there's no timetable for the Japanese boxer's return, he didn't sustain much damage earlier today. Another bout in 2023 is absolutely on the table if he wants it.

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Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton: 'The Monster' discusses win

Despite the destructive nature of Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton, the champion believes he can improve.

'The Monster' has dominated virtually every single opponent he's stepped in the ring with to date. For his part, 'Cool Boy Steph' was viewed as his biggest test, and it made sense.

Holding two titles as an undefeated champion, the hope made sense. However, it was all for not, as Fulton was dominated earlier today in Japan. While Inoue closed the show with little difficulty, he still feels he can do better.

Naoya Inoue discussed his feelings about his super bantamweight debut in the post-fight interview. There, he apologized to Fulton's team for postponing their previous meeting and also admitted that he has some work to do despite the win.

In the post-fight interview, Inoue stated:

“Everything I was thinking about was to fight him this year. 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. I believe I was able to show my increased speed and power in this bout. But I still have room to improve, so I'll get stronger as a super bantam."