Stephen Fulton could’ve battled Brandon Figueroa in a rematch that boxing fans would’ve wanted to see.

Their fan-friendly, closely contested 12-round, 122-pound championship match was a “Fight of the Year” candidate in November 2021 at Park MGM’s Dolby Live in Las Vegas. Fulton won a majority decision, but Figueroa feels he deserved the victory that night and Fulton was willing to fight his rival again.

Once undisputed bantamweight champ Naoya Inoue gave up his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 118-pound crowns, however, Fulton felt obligated to chase greatness by traveling to the Japanese superstar’s home country to defend his WBC and WBO 122-pound championships. Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) and Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs) are scheduled to fight for Fulton’s belts Tuesday night at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Fulton will earn much more money for his transpacific trip than he would’ve made to fight Figueroa again. The Philadelphia native isn’t sure, though, that many undefeated world champions in comparable positions would’ve given up all their leverage to defend their titles in an opponent’s home country.

“I feel like I did it because it was a good fight, but more so I just like doing what other people won’t do,” Fulton told BoxingScene.com. “You get what I’m saying? A lot of fighters wouldn’t have done this. Everybody would’ve been trying to protect their 0s and things like that. I straight made the fight happen. And it didn’t take no time – I straight made the fight happen.”

When Fulton informed Al Haymon that he wanted to travel overseas to face Inoue, not fight Figueroa again, the notoriously reclusive manager/adviser was fully supportive.

“He said, ‘Give the man what he want,’ ” Fulton recalled. “He said, ‘This is the fight you want to happen? Give the man what he want.’ He said, ‘I believe in you. I know you can do it. Give the man what he want.’ ”

The 29-year-old Fulton wants to challenge himself against a three-weight world champion who is typically considered one of the top three fighters, pound-for-pound, in boxing. The 30-year-old Inoue is more than a 3-1 favorite according to most sportsbooks, but he will make his debut in a 122-pound division within which Fulton has boxed throughout his eight-year professional career.

Fulton figures he and Inoue will deliver the type of unforgettable fight that’ll excite even customarily reserved fans in Japan.

“The fight itself is just gonna be so crazy that no one will really just sit there, quiet,” Fulton said. “I feel like it’s gonna be an amazing fight. And that’s my honest opinion. I feel like it’s gonna be a skillful-ass fight. That’s what I feel like – that it’s gonna be a very skillful, entertaining fight.”

ESPN+ will stream Fulton-Inoue on Tuesday morning in the United States at approximately 8 a.m. EDT (5 a.m. PDT).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.