The primary of two large fights in boxing takes place on the Ariake Enviornment in Japan. “Cool Boy” Stephen Fulton Jr. (21-0, 8KO’s) takes on “The Monster” Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21KO’s) for the unified super-bantamweight championship.
Inoue started his profession at 108 kilos, and is searching for to win a title in a 4th weight class. Fulton is trying to defend his WBC & WBO titles, and would safe what could be the largest one to this point in his profession.
One query jumps to the forefront of my thoughts when assessing this battle. Will the dimensions distinction catch as much as Inoue? Oscar De La Hoya struggled with Felix Sturm and Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosely received dealt with by Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest, and lately you noticed Canelo routed by Bivol. My level being as fighters transfer up in weight, at a sure stage the fighters get larger, which makes overcoming them tough.
Fulton will look to make use of his dimension within the battle. He has velocity, and athleticism, and fights properly off of his jab. He additionally has a penchant for knocking off undefeated fighters. Ten of his twenty-one wins have come in opposition to, undefeated opposition. The strain of doubtless dropping his undefeated report doesn’t appear to hassle him. He additionally opted to go on the street for this battle which leads me to imagine he’s assured in his skill to tug off the upset.
To win this battle Inoue might want to do what introduced him to the dance. His fundamentals are at an elite stage. He has velocity, timing, he punches to the physique properly, and the ability speaks for itself. His 88% KO ratio speaks for itself.
As said earlier, Fulton has the velocity and dimension to win this battle. He’s going to need to work off of his jab and hold the battle in the midst of the ring. He should keep away from placing his again on the ropes. In opposition to Brandon Figueroa, he made a battle he was accountable for, harder as a result of he saved going to the ropes. Figueroa was not capable of capitalize; Inoue won’t permit him such courtesies. If he goes to the ropes he places himself susceptible to being crushed to the physique. You don’t present a chance to a fighter of Inoue’s caliber too many probabilities to hit you. I feel all through 12 rounds Inoue goes to interrupt Fulton down and take dwelling a aggressive however unanimous choice.
My choose: The Monster” Naoya Inoue UD-12