Naoya Inoue TKOs Stephen Fulton to Become Boxing's Unified Super Bantamweight Champ

Naoya Inoue ran his record to a perfect 25-0 with an emphatic victory over Stephen Fulton on Tuesday in Tokyo.

Inoue dominated the fight from the outset, peppering Fulton with jabs and landing a few big punches early on. He scored his first knockdown in the eighth round and smelled blood in the water.

He got Fulton back in the corner and unleashed another flurry of offense that left the referee with no choice but to end the proceedings.

Those watching were left in awe at how Inoue dispatched the 29-year-old American.

Fulton is far from a knockout artist. Thirteen of his 21 victories went the distance entering Tuesday.

His strategy against Inoue was presumably to keep his distance, pick his spots and win enough rounds to earn a decision. If that was the approach, then Plan A quickly went out the window.

As soon as the opening bell rang, Inoue displayed a calculated aggression. The extent to which Fulton, whom ESPN ranked the top boxer at 122 pounds, found himself on the defensive was stunning. He simply had no answer for Inoue whatsoever.

Per CompuBox, the newly crowned unified super bantamweight champion landed 114 total blows and 70 power punches. His opponent connected with just 47 and 24, respectively.

Inoue was already widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound pugilists in the world. After Tuesday, he has a strong case to be No. 1 on that list.

It didn't take long for his next challenger to emerge.

Marlon Tapales is 37-3 and claimed the WBA and IBF junior featherweight titles with his win over Murodjon Akhmadaliev in April. Assuming a date with Inoue is finalized, he may not be holding on to the gold for much longer.