‘The Monster’ Naoya Inoue steps up in weight tomorrow to take on super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton for the unified WBC and WBO belts.
Previously having dominated three different weight divisions, Inoue will take to the ring on Tuesday morning to prove once again why many rate him so highly in terms of the best in the current generation.
Fulton, despite being the champion, will travel to Koto-Ku in Japan to take on the Ring Magazine’s and ESPN’s pound-for-pound number two in the world Naoya Inoue.
Inoue will enter the contest with 24 victories on his resume with 21 finishes. Whereas Fulton is less known for his power and more for his technical ability inside the squared circle. Fulton is 21-0 with only 8 stoppages, his last of which was in late 2019 when a right hook to the body dropped ad stopped Isaac Avelar.
The tale as old as time will be the question of whether Fulton can avoid the serious power of the Japanese resident or whether he can dance around him and open a large enough points gap.
Naoya Inoue has proved time and time again that his power is a problem for anyone, against Nonito Donaire in their second encounter Inoue found multiple check left hooks early in round 2 which set up the stoppage as once he backs his opponents up to the ropes they find it very difficult to escape.
The first of two unified title fights this week will kick off at 9:30 am on Tuesday morning with the expected ring walks for the main event to be around midday on Sky Sports.
Later this week Errol Spence takes on Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight (147lb) gold.
Naoya Inoue vs Stephen Fulton Best Bits
For outright winners, Naoya Inoue can be found at 3/10 and Fulton at 7/2. For a US audience that equates to -333 for Inoue and +350 for Fulton.
Inoue is clearly expected to win the fight, presumably by KO so round betting is likely to be the biggest winner if he were to win. Three of his last five finishes have been in the rounds 7-12 range, and using the logic that Fulton is potentially the best fighter Inoue has ever faced it would be hard to foresee an early finish here.
Naoya Inoue in rounds 7-12 – 9/4 at SkyBet
If perhaps, Fulton can avoid the power, and not just by covering up for all of the fight similar to Paul Butler back in December, then there is a real chance he could point-score his way to victory. As a more outside shot:
Stephen Fulton by decision or technical decision – 9/2 at WilliamHill
How do you see this fight playing out? Let us know!
Featured image credits to https Getty Images
