Paul Butler paid tribute to Naoya Inoue after seeing his hopes of becoming boxing's first undisputed bantamweight champion in 50 years end in heartbreak.
The unbeaten Japanese fighter, who improves his professional record to 24-0 (21 KOs), knocked Butler down in the 11th round of the contest in Tokyo. After falling to the canvas, the 34-year-old shook his head as he attempted to rise from his knees, before lying flat on his back as referee Bence Kovacs waved the contest off.
And speaking post-fight, the 'Baby Faced Assassin' paid tribute to Inoue and acknowledged that he fell short against the 29-year-old. He said: “You can see the punches coming but sometimes you can’t react quick enough to get out of the way, because he is that fast.
