Topic: [Boxing] Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue | WBC & WBO 122 lbs bout | July 25 - page 42. (Read 7068 times)

It could be, but historically, this division is like the primetime, then followed by the Heavyweight. So it's really hard to see it becoming just another division now just because a powerful entity is controlling it. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather was made though, before it was too late and no longer in their prime. Why not they can do it with Crawford and Spence.

Anyhow, May it is, Fulton will be ready by that time, but it could be very different as it's hard to get a sparring partner similar to Inoue and probably the most important is the power of Naoya. Because it's not going to be replicated by any training partner in the gym.

^ I do agree, there are no fighters maybe except those 2 champions mentioned that might have the chance to win against the Monster but it's a long shot. Maybe Nery will be a good fight to for the Naoya but he might be overpowered by the Inoue too. Of course, for Casimero fans, who are waiting for him and Naoya to fight as well, but it might take some time as he needs to fall in line for the fight and payday.

So let's see if Fulton, being so confident that he is willing to travel to Japan can pull an upset. Or is Inoue really to big for this 122 lbs weight class that no one can match up against him.

Yes, that is totally possible. I also got a feeling that this fight can indeed outrun the first two gates mentioned, $10 Million is not that huge considering that both names that will be participating this fight are famous and both camps for sure got their own huge bases who will support them through PPV and live gates.


It's either they are a hater of Inoue or they are still not that convinced that Naoya Inoue is just so good, hence why he managed to unify all the belts at 118.

Now that he is campaigning at 122 and is going against a champion directly, Fulton should be tight in his defense just to make sure that Inoue's punches cannot get through because if he is careless, then it's safe to assume that we will see another fight that will end in TKO/KO. But I guess, that's not likely to happen because Fulton is not that kind of boxer.

I think right now, there's nobody at 122 that is interesting enough to watch against Inoue. Well of course, except Fulton and Murodjon.

Yes, that's how it's supposed to be but didn't you guys noticed that some of the boxers who now holds their belts did get away with their supposed mandatory fights? The guys at lightweight, welterweight, super-welterweight and even super-middleweight are getting some perks to hold their belts much longer and taking away the chances from the rising boxers to have their shot.

But anyway, at least we got a few good fights this year. Right?

The welterweight and super-welterweight is a known division that is full of vicious boxers all over the world but now, that's not the case anymore because Spence Jr. and Al Haymon is giving the division a bad reputation because they are taking a full advantage of their influence towards the governing bodies to make a mandatory fight without risking the belts of the champion.

That is why the avid fans are now taking more attention from the lower weight class because aside from its exciting fights that is produced every couple of months, we know that the fights taking place at the mentioned division is fair and square, so different from the upper weight class these days.

Let's just refrain from getting so ahead, we already know that Inoue is a strong boxer who got so much power in his punches and unbeatable because there's nobody at 118 that can match his current form but at 122, he is yet to make a name and that's not yet guaranteed as we should not forget that he is going to face the 2-belt champion, Stephen Fulton who is also giving punishments to the boxers he is facing in the past. What I'm saying is, even if this fight is going to happen at Japan, both sides got the same pressure because for Inoue, it will be a big embarrassment for him if he will get defeated in-front of his people and for Fulton, the pressure is also there because he is the champion yet he's visiting the country of the challenger.

And it's it ironic though that we are seeing this money fights in the below weight class? I mean the 147 lbs is what we know as the best, but we haven't seen Crawford and Spence.

But even in the 140 lbs, we have seen Josh Taylor unify the belts and then 135 as you have said, Tank vs Ryan Garcia, and then we have Haney vs Loma. And as if this lower division are mocking the supposedly best weight class because it now becomes a joke, Spence vs Thurman fighting at 154 lbs and with no belts on the line.

I very much agree, however, this is what the sport of boxing is supposed to be. The best boxers should challenge the other best boxers in another weight division or in their present weight division. This will bring the sport forward again and not need to become a comedy show to get more attention similar to Jake Paul. Fulton vs. Inoue, Tank vs. King Ry and Haney vs. Lomanchenko are good fights for the fans and the sport.

Well with the way he handled the pressure of Brandon Figueroa and to win? that's already a moral booster for Fulton and that's why he test himself again by traveling to Japan.

Definitely the money is good enough for this division, it's already huge and I guess the Japanese promoter has deep pockets. So we will see, he is the Monster as we know and Fulton might have a real problem dealing with that power with they fight.

Well, I like the confidence of Fulton, nothing is impossible indeed if he can adjust and come up to an effective strategy to beat Inoue. But it's a fact that this time he might face his first loss knowing how good the monster is.

Majority of us are already expecting Inoue to beat Fulton then he can level up to division once again. I think this one is an easy fight for him and it's an advantage on his side that the fight will be held on his home town.

Too early to say about on making have another moving up on weight division as if we are already concluding that he could beat up Fulton and dominate this weight division.I dont really have no doubts
about his capability but it is really that too early for you to say that he could beat up Fulton and move for another weight or step up.Lets see if he would be able to handle it out on beating up
Fulton without much effort but we know that he wont really be a Champion without reason and this is why Inoue should really be still that careful because another division is considered always different.

Don't know why other people say that Naoya Inoue takes a shortcut when it's obvious that no one from lower rankings in the Super Bantamweight can match Inoue.

Isn't the fact that Inoue is unbeatable at the bantamweight division and no one from there can even come close to his level, is not enough to convince those people that he is already qualified to face a champion at the Super Bantamweight which is a much better fight to see than organizing a debut fight for him against a considered not even contender.

I want to ask those people who considered Naoya Inoue as taking a shortcut, aside from facing WBC and WBO champion Stephen Fulton and WBA and IBF champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev, who else in the Super Bantamweight is a good match for Naoya Inoue that is worthy to watch and make sense to organize?

Yes, that is true, the money that is being generated in Japan alone is going to be huge, as per reports, they are going to split the guaranteed $ 8 million, Inoue getting the lion share. And maybe this is the reason, why PBC and Fulton are willing to travel to Japan,



https://twitter.com/YoungDanielDad/status/1615906940101566464

And as Fulton said,


https://www.boxingscene.com/fulton-on-inoue-i-feel-like-i-style-beat-anyone--172923

So let's see how far Fulton can go against Inoue, he struggles against a volume punching in Figueroa, then he level it up facing the Monster, this time, it's not how many punches Inoue will throw, it's going to be the accuracy and the power behind, be in a jab or right overhand.

Exactly, any fight that includes Naoya Inoue will become an instant hit especially if the fight will take place in Japan as Inoue can attract a lot of audience in their country alone, what more for the other people from other parts of the world who would like to see this fight too. I mean, it's not that too difficult to think why Bob Arum is holding the fight in Japan because they can sell it more and will have more profits than holding the fight somewhere in America.

But some people didn't see it that way because for them, Inoue is taking a shortcut because he is now fighting Fulton directly on his debut at super-bantamweight when it is indeed normal already as it's not Inoue who did it first. Besides, he is favored by the governing bodies because of what he achieved at bantamweight, now he is just taking advantage of it.

The reason why promoters choose Japan as the venue. Aside from it can generate the same revenue when it is held in the other big venue instead outside Japan, Naoya Inoue, being super popular in Japan will boost the market sales.

Imagine, just in Japan alone, the expected revenue is really big and what's more, if they will count PPVs outside the country.

I hope others who questioned the venue will have their mind clear about why Inoue is fighting in Japan mostly on his career. It's not that he doesn't want to stay out of his comfort zone but business side, he's really a cash cow by the Top Rank in Japan. Establishing and building a legacy while taking advantage of the business side.

Fight is officially declared to happen May 7 in Japan, at Yokohama Arena. In this is Inoue's home town to expect that the arena will sell off, 17,000 sits are available so it's almost the same as MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It will be carry by ESPN+ in the US. This is Fulton's first fight outside of the US and he is very much game about it as he wants to travel to Japan and beat their champion. Its a different venue though where Inoue knockout Donaire, it is the Saitama Super Arena. So let's wait for the odds to be released by out favorite sports bookies. But I will not be surprised if Fulton as the champion will be the underdog in this fight.

Considering how strong Inoue is and how his last fights ended up, he is actually deserving to fight the champion as soon as he moves up his division and has a chance to also quickly dominate this weight division if he ever wins it, he only got some few fights to stay there when he defends his titles and probably will gonna move up again for another opportunity to further increase his merits and glory in his pro boxing career while he is in his very best.

I think you are right with your sentiment. The organizations gave him the opportunities to challenge the current champ with
the division he chooses to move up.

It's a good perk after unifying or dominating the division he came from, I think people who understand will not disagree with
the setup, he established his name from the division he dominated.

Choosing to move up and try stripping the current champ would be a nice challenge to prove how good he was.

So finally Inoue vs Fulton is officially a go. The fight will happen in Inoue's hometown of Yokohama, Japan. Prior to this, we already heard that Fulton was given the blessing of PBC boss Al Haymon to face Inoue without PBC and its networks included in the event. Top Rank and its partner ESPN and Inoue's local partners are the ones handling this event. Hopefully, this is the start of PBC being open to its fighters from other promotions and networks although this is not possible without the eagerness of Fulton to face boxing's numero uno/dos Naoya Inoue.

Speaking of pound-for-pound ranking which is a big deal in boxing, an Inoue win will surely secure its top spot at The Ring which listed Uysk as its top. Meanwhile, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) ranked Inoue as its top. TBRB was created when the bible of boxing, The Ring was purchased by GBP, branding it not independent and unreliable anymore due to the risk of being influenced by the promoter, its network, and the sanctioning bodies. Although I have to admit that if Usyk wins the undisputed belt at heavyweight, he deserved the top spot.

The race is still on for the first fighter to become a 2-division undisputed in this 4-belt era. Usyk is probably the first one to try since he is nearing to reach a deal with Tyson Fury. Inoue is possibly next if he hurdles Fulton and becomes the WBO and WBC champion while the remaining 2 belts are already held by a single champion, Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Terrence Crawford should have had the best chance earlier including a 3-division undisputed attempt but it seems like PBC is blocking him to accomplish history at the cost of its fighters.