Topic: [Boxing] Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue | WBC & WBO 122 lbs bout | July 25 - page 23. (Read 7068 times)

Yes, that was the only fight where Inoue faced some difficulties, but in the end, he still emerged victorious via unanimous decision by making necessary adjustments despite being injured. When we compare Stephen Fulton to Nonito Donaire, I believe the latter holds more popularity, so I don't have high expectations for Fulton. However, I don't want to underestimate Fulton, but based on my personal prediction, I think this will be another relatively easy fight for Inoue.

It's the majority's expectation that Inoue will dominate, and if we look at the betting odds, Inoue is quite a heavy favorite. This means that most fans are expecting Inoue to win easily. However, you make a valid point because when we consider Fulton's technical skills, we can see that he is also a decent fighter. We should not underestimate what he has done and can do in his future fights, including this one.

In the end, we never know the outcome of the fight, so let's just wait and see.

I'm not sure about the expectations that Inoe will dominate his opponent. Just for the record, Stephen Fulton is probably the toughest that Inoue will face in his career at this point and if I remembered it right, Inoue himself recognized that saying Fulton is the biggest challenge he will have. We never know what will happen until they meet in the ring.

Honestly, I'm more seeing the fight will go toe-to-toe and not that one of them will have a landslide and smooth victory, I hope so. Stephen Fulton waited for this fight for a long and he even says that he might probably outclass Inoue even though he's not a big puncher but will use his advantage of being a heavy volume puncher. Referring to both boxers' speeds, I found them equal.

Only the "turning point" will decide who will win.

If i were on Fulton then i would surely be trying out to see the fight record of Donaire against Inoue on which it would really be a good thing or view for him to consider on what are the things needed up to improve.
Its somewhat true that Inoue isnt really that been that tested out on extreme manner but closely on what Donaire  had done into him which you could see that he do able to inflict out some damage on Inoue's
face if you do compared it it out on those previous match. Fulton could really be getting some idea on where he should really be trying out to improve but of course INoue's team wont really be that dumb on not to make out some adjustments as well because assuming or presuming that future opponents would really be having that consideration on trying out to check his previous fights about his performance or
whatever fighting style he would have. If Fulton could be able to survive several body blows or could withstand on which Inoue is known for, then for sure he would be having a chance
on surviving this.

Yes, I don't think that we can call Fulton overrated, he has fought a great fight against Brandon Figueroa, and in that fight, he almost goes down and we don't know how he can survived that barrage or volume of punch by Figueroa and still manage to be victorious.

On the other hand, we haven't seen Inoue really being tested, the closest is against Donaire the first fight. But Nonito was somewhat late in charging in that fight and that Inoue has belt a good lead in the judges scorecard. So there's a lot of scenario here, if Fulton manage to survive Inoue's power then maybe it will make the fight more interesting.

While you are right about that, you also made it sound that Inoue was somehow overrated because you are already underestimating the boxers at 122 right now. Let's not forget that no matter how good Inoue is, that was all from 118 as that's where he achieved being a unified champion but this time, let's give Fulton and others some benefit and the benefit of the doubt because this is their division while Inoue is still getting accustomed to it.

Don't take it wrong, I don't have any quarrels with Naoya Inoue and in-fact, I'm one of his believers and fans. It's just that it is better to see what he can do at 122 first before we start the praise parade as that sounds more reasonable rather than underestimating Fulton, he is a champion of a reason and Inoue knows that.

Inoue went the other way which is unifying and becoming undisputed. The goal of achieving them won't allow you to move up in divisions pretty quickly just like Pacquiao did. If Pacquiao went on to pursue unification fights and become undisputed, he will never reach the 8 division titles. Pacquiao only tried to unify twice which ended in a draw and a loss. Pacquiao never experienced holding 2 major belts in a division. But somehow, Pacquiao is a 5 division lineal champion IIRC which makes him unique and special. So if there is only 1 belt per division, Pacman will remain as having the most titles in as many divisions, Mayweather probably 4, De La Hoya only 2, etc. Having only 1 belt but being recognized as the lineal champion is still better than having 3 belts but unrecognized as the lineal of its division. That is why Spence despite owning 3 of the 4 belts needs Crawford to determine the lineal champion of their division. Pacman did not duck anyone and always went on to fight the best which are the lineals or #1 or #2 in the divisions that is why he made it to 5.

Inoue on the other hand has the chance to become the only 2-division undisputed champion in the 4-belt era. And this is very doable if he wins over Fulton because WBA and IBF champion Marlon Tapales expressed his willingness to unify the 4 belts as well.

Inoue is one of a kind and you won't find someone like him nowadays, the way he finished his opponents and the way he throw those punches are quietly unique and hard to counter. He is currently in his prime and to think that he is easy to beat in his current self is honestly delusional for any boxer in their current weight division. In this upcoming fight, he is expectedly gonna dominate his opponent and will also easily gonna make everyone on the top list train harder because he is coming to beat them.

Odds shows it as well, for sure Inoue will be the favorite and if I'm not mistaken it has been released by some bookies already. But when I check today, it has been deleted. Maybe they will have to post it again once the fight is nearing the schedule in June.

So yes, no surprised, we respect Fulton, for what he did at 122 lbs and he is supposed to move up, but just decided to stay so that he can fight Inoue.

But it's going to be hard for him and Inoue is really very good even at this weight and I for one thinks that he can be the undisputed champion once more.

Yeah, but considering Inoue's popularity and his impressive track record, it wouldn't be surprising if his winning streak continues. Even though Fulton is the champion, it seems like the public doesn't believe he stands a chance against the formidable Inoue. All we can do is wait and see another impressive victory by Inoue. Sorry for assuming too much, and while I do respect Fulton, my intuition tells me that he won't be able to withstand Inoue's power punches. Just like the past boxers Inoue has defeated, Fulton might not be an exception.

Like what the comment above you, it's not that far from his previous weight and since he's aging as well, the metabolism of his body might
take him up to this weight, it's a favorable to him as mentioned he doesn't need to burn a lot to maintain his weight.

He might be more comfortable fighting and moving around. It will going to depend on the training and preparations that he will take while waiting
for the final date.

Both are known to be on the top of their respective careers, but only one can win the match.

Considering the fact that once a boxer or should I say almost every human that will enter the Father-phase, there will be some changes on their body including their weight and for Inoue, this new weight class might be his suitable weight class as he's not getting any younger. And if that will be the case here, then Inoue do have some slight advantage because he will be not needing a lengthy rehydration process just to fit in the weight class. 2 more months to go!

Right, we really have to see first how Inoue will do in this division, although as we have seen or predicted, it's not a big jump and on the contrary it could be positive for him to be in this division as his body will not have to diet and go to 118 lbs as if might affect his performance.

So we will see if he still has the power that he is known of, because in the bantamweight division, he clean that up and beat everyone either with knockout or stoppage winning. So everyone is anticipating the same dominance in super bantamweight.

It is very difficult to make a Prediction of how many rounds they can do, but the important thing here is that they can have several options, but the one that perhaps for me will be the best is that they can both do a great job, but the winner will be Inoue, I know that Fulton He is very strong, his technique is very good, but I think it will not be enough to overcome an Inoue who I consider to be a boxing genius, from the way he fights, from the way he acts, I see him as a great professional, I The best thing about Inoue is that he is a quiet boxer, he doesn't praise himself, he has humility, which is something that many forgot.

One good reasons why Inoue has been compared to Manny Pacquiao is because he is also from an Asian country which is just 4 hours Northeast from the Philippines where Pacquiao came from and then Inoue is still active and young while those list in the mentioned article are the boxers who is already past their prime and inactive in the professional scene for years, some even decades.

Inoue being still active in the sport means that he will likely reach that same milestone, I mean his chances are quite strong compared to Oscar that stopped from the 6th Division.

There's always doubt among fans when a boxer moves up in weight class, as it's possible that they may not be able to maintain their power and quickness. However, we just have to wait and see because Inoue will surely not continue moving up if it doesn't help him achieve his goals.

This is actually his first attempt, so it's quite early to expect immediate success in another division.

He just needs to establish his dominance in the super bantamweight division, and that begins with defeating Fulton.

At least he can try. Besides, losing a fight is not a big deal for him as long as he knows how to come back. Pacquiao is not an undefeated boxer, yet he has become a sensational boxer who enjoys a huge fan base due to his boxing style. Inoue has the same boxing style. He is aggressive and knocks down a lot of opponents, but he just needs to take risks and try to move up to push his limits. Hopefully, his promoter will not hinder his plans.

If only Manny Pacquiao had not skipped two division on his going up in weight classes, manny would have bagged another 2 division making it a 10 division champion, but well what happened happens so he became 8 Division champion which I also think is too hard to break.  Even with Inoue's skills and popularity, he will have a hard time bagging more division belts because of the weight/strength/resistance possibility.  Heavier weight has heavier punches and is more sturdy body that can challenge Inoue's power and resistance to heavy punches.


Different boxers have different results even with the same manager/promoter.  The problem would be the age.  If Inoue take it slow, he might miss some division that will break Pacqiuao's record before he retires, if he take it too fast then he might end up beaten by the heavier boxers.  So I really think it is difficult for Inoue to break the 8 division title of Manny Pacquiao.

And it just only shows that Pacquiao is really Legendary on how he did it in short amount of time + he has Bob Arum who orchestrate it, and Roach who chooses his opponent carefully every time he jumps one weight class, like David Diaz.

So in any case if Inoue is something special as well, then he might or can do it. He is under Bob Arum so he knows how to do it because of Manny. If not, then take it slowly, let his body adjust and grow naturally to 126 lbs and higher and we can only accomplished it as we mature and age.

it would take time to really go up in higher weight division. pacquiao did it but it was not an overnight preparation. he was thrown a lot of criticisms throughout those years. now, if inoue is serious in carving out his own career, he can also do it. but would take years and not only few months. let's see how he will perform in this division. though it is not that much of a change so should be easy for him.