Naoya Inoue vs. Paul Butler officially set for December 13 in Tokyo

The bantamweight division will decide an undisputed champion on December 13 in Tokyo. Naoya Inoue will put his WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring titles on the line against WBO champ Paul Butler at Ariake Arena. The fight was first reported in August, but it is now officially official.

The fight time and broadcast partner have not been announced, but the expectation is the fight will air on ESPN+.

Inoue is 23-0 and has been the king of the bantamweight division since winning the World Boxing Super Series in 2019. Prior to the Super Series he had won the WBA (Regular) title with a first round TKO of Jamie McDonnell in May 2018. After retaining that belt with a Super Series quarterfinal KO of Juan Carlos Payano in October, he won the IBF and vacant The Ring title with a second-round knockout of Emmanuel Rodriguez in the semifinals in May 2019. He added the WBA (Super) title in November when he beat Nonito Donaire via unanimous decision.

This past June, Inoue ended his rivalry with Nonito Donaire in decisive fashion, ending it in the second round and adding the WBC title in the process.

Butler is 34-2 and is coming off a decision win over Jonas Sultan to claim the vacant WBO title. Prior to tht he won a split decision over Willibaldo Garcia to claim the WBO’s then vacant International title.

Inoue is a massive favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook with odds opened at -8000. Butler is installed at +1400.