Why Naoya ‘The Monster’ Inoue should be your favorite fighter

His opponent, Paul Butler, was in survival mode the entire fight, ultra reluctant to throw a punch for fear of opening up his guard.

Butler knew what he was up against: not just any boxer, but the one who earned the moniker “The Monster” for his unbridled power, lightning-quick hands and uncanny use of angles.

Through the years as the Japanese star sliced through various weight classes with ease, Naoya Inoue’s triumphs have transformed him into something approaching mythical status.

Butler, a solid fighter who happened to hold the final belt that stood between Inoue and the undisputed bantamweight championship, found out firsthand what makes Inoue so special.

Even though he was in high guard during the entirety of their December meeting, Inoue still found a way. That he was able to stop Butler wasn’t so impressive. That Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs) was able to do so despite Butler’s unwillingness to engage? Exceedingly rare. Fighters often lambast their opponents for “running” to explain why they couldn’t deliver a knockout in a dull fight. No excuses needed with Inoue.

He exploded into the American boxing consciousness with a trio of knockouts over top-10 bantamweights in title fights from 2018 to ’19 in Japan, streamed in the early morning hours stateside.

Now, Inoue, ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer, is poised for his toughest challenge yet, another chance for his legend to grow. In his first fight at 122 pounds, Inoue will challenge the junior featherweight division’s top boxer, Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton, for his WBC and WBO world titles on Tuesday in Tokyo (4:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+).

Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) is a pound-for-pound talent, sitting just outside the top 10 and is naturally far bigger…