Briton Paul Butler intends to upset the odds by beating Naoya Inoue to become the first undisputed bantamweight champion in half a century.<\/span><\/p>\n WBO champion Butler faces Inoue in Japan on Tuesday – the first time he has fought away from home.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Japanese three-weight world champion Inoue, 29, holds the WBA (Super), WBC and IBF belts, and is unbeaten in 23 fights, with 20 knockouts.<\/span><\/p>\n “If I get the gameplan right, I believe I’ll win,” Butler, 34, told BBC Sport.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s a tough fight. I’ve got to stay switched on.”<\/span><\/p>\n Inoue – nicknamed ‘The Monster’ – is second in Ring Magazine’s esteemed pound-for-pound rankings and will fight at home for the 20th time in his career.<\/span><\/p>\n “Inoue deserves his title as pound-for-pound king,” said Butler – a two-time world champion.<\/span><\/p>\n “Everyone knows what he does well. He puts people away and stops people.”<\/span><\/p>\n Butler, who was upgraded to <\/span>WBO champion<\/span><\/a> in May when John Riel Casimero was stripped of the belt, is a big underdog going into Tuesday’s fight.<\/span><\/p>\n But though he is under no illusions about the size of the task – describing Inoue as a “special” fighter – he says people are wrong to write him off.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’ve definitely earned the chance,” he said. “Inoue’s human, that is what he is.<\/span><\/p>\n “He’s got two arms, two legs. He’s no different to any other opponent.”<\/span><\/p>\n A disrupted journey meant it took Butler three days to travel to Japan, but he said he was “happy” to be fighting there, with long-time coach Joe Gallagher alongside him.<\/span><\/p>\n And after watching Inoue in his two fights with the legendary Nonito Donaire, Butler believes there are holes in his opponent’s defence he is capable of exploiting.<\/span><\/p>\n Inoue was hurt repeatedly in his <\/span>first fight with Donaire in 2019,<\/span><\/a> before blowing him away in two rounds in their <\/span>rematch in 2022<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n “If you’re looking for gaps, you only need to look at the first fight,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n “There’s plenty to be seen, especially the first few rounds. Then in the mid to late rounds you can see a lot of gaps.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’m a little bit better than Donaire, fresher, and there’s not many miles on the clock with me. <\/span><\/p>\n “I believe that if I get the chance, I will exploit those gaps.”<\/span><\/p>\n Panamanian Enrique Pinder was the last undisputed bantamweight champion – in 1972.<\/span><\/p>\n There has never been an undisputed champion in the four-belt era, and Butler would be just the third Briton after <\/span>Chantelle Cameron<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Josh Taylor<\/span><\/a> to achieve the feat.<\/span><\/p>\n “I can’t even explain what it would mean to me,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s massive. It’s something I’ve worked for since I was a 10-year-old boy.<\/span><\/p>\n “I don’t think Inoue underestimates anyone\u2026 but if he has cut any corners and he has underestimated me, he’ll find out.”<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Naoya](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/1C18\/production\/_127929170_gettyimages-1233553527.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span>![\"Graphic](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/497D\/production\/_127931881_-5be679c9-7c36-4700-b89c-0e96ed25adce.png\")
<\/span><\/span>