Naoya Inoue, who relinquished his four world championship belts to move up in weight to the super bantamweight division, said Saturday he has zero anxiety ahead of his July 25 fight with WBC and WBO champion Stephen Fulton of the United States.
Speaking at his Ohashi Boxing Gym in Yokohama, Inoue said he was in perfect trim for his super bantamweight debut, which allows him an extra 1.8 kilograms than when he fought as a bantamweight.
"I have absolutely nothing to be anxious about," Inoue said. "As the challenger for the first time in a while, I'm as fired up as I've ever been."
A win over Fulton at Ariake Arena would make Inoue the second Japanese man with world championships in four different weight classes, after Kazuto Ioka achieved the feat in June 2019.
"My work is going well," Inoue said. "I'm handling the preparations. I am thinking super bantam is the best weight for me."
Fulton's camp opened his training to the public on Friday, but he could only be seen skipping rope and doing some light shadow boxing.
"The gamesmanship has already begun," said the Ohashi gym's chairman, Hideyuki Ohashi, said. "I understand how Fulton feels."