[Boxing] Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue | WBC & WBO 122 lbs bout | July 25

[harizen]

Credits: Steve Marcus/Getty Images and Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty Images

After being an undisputed Bantamweight Champion at 118 lbs last month, Japan's Naoya Inoue vacates all his titles and decided to move up weight to face the challenges at 122 lbs. Naoya Inoue, who also called as the "Japanese Monster" debut fight will be against the current WBC and WBO Super Bantamweight (also known as Junior Featherweight) Champion Stephen Fulton.

When: July 25, 2023
Where: Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan

Naoya Inoue and Stephen Fulton reschedule hotly anticipated fight

When: May 7, 2023
Where: Yokohama Arena , Japan

POSTPONED: March 22, 2003 - TBA
Inoue injury leads to postponement of world title bout with Fulton
Naoya Inoue injured, May 7th fight with Stephen Fulton postponed
Naoya Inoue injured, fight with Stephen Fulton Jr postponed

Related Sources:
Stephen Fulton vs Naoya Inoue unified world title fight live on Sky Sports on May 7 from the Yokohama Arena
Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue on Sky Sports on May 7
Naoya Inoue, Stephen Fulton agree to 122-pound title bout
Stephen Fulton & Naoya Inoue Agree To Terms For May On ESPN+
Naoya Inoue and Stephen Fulton Jr reportedly discussing spring title fight in Japan
Stephen Fulton-Naoya Inoue 122-Pound Championship Clash Targeted For Late Spring In Japan

[bbc.reporter]

I was not expecting Inoue to challenge Stephen Fulton first! I was speculating that he will challenge Akhmadaliev then challenge Fulton for a unification superfight. It appears they want to first take the more difficult challenge hehe. Inoue would be making more money if he had half of the super bantamweight already through Akhmadaliev before challenging Fulton.

In any case, this will be a very entertaining year for the sport of boxing! Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, Tyson Fury vs. Usyk and Spence vs. Crawford!

[bittraffic]

Inoue just announced vacating the bantamweight then instantly got a match with Fulton. This isn't a final date yet so maybe the venue can also change later, it's not to Fulton's advantage to fight in Japan.

According to one tweet Fulton already suggested they fight at 126. This is to put Inoue at a disadvantage while Inoue goes fighting without tuneup at 122. That's the first image I saw Inoue smiling by the way, looks like a K-pop singer.

[Kemarit]

I was not expecting Inoue to challenge Stephen Fulton first! I was speculating that he will challenge Akhmadaliev then challenge Fulton for a unification superfight. It appears they want to first take the more difficult challenge hehe. Inoue would be making more money if he had half of the super bantamweight already through Akhmadaliev before challenging Fulton.

I think I will say that Fulton is a better matchup for Inoue, it's a tailor fight for him and Inoue has all the advantage and I might be thinking that he will score a knockout against Fulton.

Fulton doesn't have the power and as far as speed goes, I have Inoue as the faster between the two.

So it's a right choice for Inoue to get to him and take that belt easy, IMHO.

[coinerer]

I was not expecting Inoue to challenge Stephen Fulton first! I was speculating that he will challenge Akhmadaliev then challenge Fulton for a unification superfight. It appears they want to first take the more difficult challenge hehe. Inoue would be making more money if he had half of the super bantamweight already through Akhmadaliev before challenging Fulton.

I think I will say that Fulton is a better matchup for Inoue, it's a tailor fight for him and Inoue has all the advantage and I might be thinking that he will score a knockout against Fulton.

Fulton doesn't have the power and as far as speed goes, I have Inoue as the faster between the two.

So it's a right choice for Inoue to get to him and take that belt easy, IMHO.

Stephen Fulton is a 28-year-old player and Naoya Inoue is a 29-year-old player.  Both cannot be considered as Yang.  And both are old enough.  Naoya Inoue fighting style is very different from Fulton  and he is a very smart boxer. Naoya Inoue will take points by knockout and he always fights with his smarts.  He does not waste his calories fighting unnecessarily. So maybe he will be able to win the match.  If it is not granted

[Reatim]

Inoue needs to grow His career Up and he will not have it if not taking one step forward , he had been dominating the Bantamweight division for years and I think he becomes boring not having a best opponent so this is the best move to challenge His skills and capacity, though Fulton is really strong and skillful , yet Naoya is his best opponent for this title match.

[Yaunfitda]

Inoue just announced vacating the bantamweight then instantly got a match with Fulton. This isn't a final date yet so maybe the venue can also change later, it's not to Fulton's advantage to fight in Japan.

According to one tweet Fulton already suggested they fight at 126. This is to put Inoue at a disadvantage while Inoue goes fighting without tuneup at 122. That's the first image I saw Inoue smiling by the way, looks like a K-pop singer.

And I thought that Fulton will have a fight this coming January if I'm not mistaken?

Anyhow, let's see how it goes, of course, we can't wait for the biggest puncher right now in Inoue to be in the ring again and makes another history of being undisputed at 122 lbs. This is his first step, against Fulton and I will agree that he could be the next victim of the Monster.

Inoue needs to grow His career Up and he will not have it if not taking one step forward , he had been dominating the Bantamweight division for years and I think he becomes boring not having a best opponent so this is the best move to challenge His skills and capacity, though Fulton is really strong and skillful , yet Naoya is his best opponent for this title match.

He has nothing to accomplished in 118 lbs, he has all the belts and clean up the division, beating the likes of Nonito Donaire in the process. So it make sense for him to move up and again unify all the belts in super bantamweight because it will be history.

[btc_angela]

I was not expecting Inoue to challenge Stephen Fulton first! I was speculating that he will challenge Akhmadaliev then challenge Fulton for a unification superfight. It appears they want to first take the more difficult challenge hehe. Inoue would be making more money if he had half of the super bantamweight already through Akhmadaliev before challenging Fulton.

I think I will say that Fulton is a better matchup for Inoue, it's a tailor fight for him and Inoue has all the advantage and I might be thinking that he will score a knockout against Fulton.

Fulton doesn't have the power and as far as speed goes, I have Inoue as the faster between the two.

So it's a right choice for Inoue to get to him and take that belt easy, IMHO.

Stephen Fulton is a 28-year-old player and Naoya Inoue is a 29-year-old player.  Both cannot be considered as Yang.  And both are old enough.  Naoya Inoue fighting style is very different from Fulton  and he is a very smart boxer. Naoya Inoue will take points by knockout and he always fights with his smarts.  He does not waste his calories fighting unnecessarily. So maybe he will be able to win the match.  If it is not granted

They are still in their prime is that what you are trying to say. However, boxing is based on power and we have seen the Inoue is called the Monster because he has been knocking his opponents in his last couple of fights.

Of course, it's not granted, no one here assure of a sure win, but if we will see the odds here, if ever going to be listed by sport bookies, we have no doubt that Inoue will be the outstanding favorite because of him being the superior fighter although he is the one going up in weight here.

[robelneo]

Inoue did the right thing going up and immediately challenging the toughest guy in that division this is a mark of a guy who loves challenges and legacy because he knows he can beat just anybody, Inoue has the making of a great fighter in the tradition of Manny Pacquiao, he can conquer the 126 level because he can carry his power and speed on that level, he just needs to add muscles, he can easily do that because it's still within the range of his body frame, I expect him to be the favorite to win the fight because right now no one comes close to Inoue.

[tabas]

Good for him, I don't know much a lot with Stephen but Naoya sure is a monster and is worthy of his alias. On 122 lbs, I'm sure that he'll feel something new with that but he's aware of any changes on that division and since he's the undisputed champion on the past division that he has left, it's becoming more interesting not just on him but also the title match that he has vacated.

[Jating]

Good for him, I don't know much a lot with Stephen but Naoya sure is a monster and is worthy of his alias. On 122 lbs, I'm sure that he'll feel something new with that but he's aware of any changes on that division and since he's the undisputed champion on the past division that he has left, it's becoming more interesting not just on him but also the title match that he has vacated.

I don't also see Inoue having issues on 122 lbs, and I think he can bring his power to this division (I hope others will agree with my observation). What I really like about Fulton is his never say die mentality, against Brandon Figueroa, he shows a lot of heart and win that fight in the judges score card. But I don't think he can last against the power of Inoue. Again even in 122 lbs, he might be even powerful in this division because he doesn't have to weight drain himself just to make the desired weight. Now he can eat without issues and then go to the gym train hard every day. Fulton's tenacity will be tested here.

[Coin_trader]

I was not expecting Inoue to challenge Stephen Fulton first! I was speculating that he will challenge Akhmadaliev then challenge Fulton for a unification superfight. It appears they want to first take the more difficult challenge hehe. Inoue would be making more money if he had half of the super bantamweight already through Akhmadaliev before challenging Fulton.

I think I will say that Fulton is a better matchup for Inoue, it's a tailor fight for him and Inoue has all the advantage and I might be thinking that he will score a knockout against Fulton.

Fulton doesn't have the power and as far as speed goes, I have Inoue as the faster between the two.

So it's a right choice for Inoue to get to him and take that belt easy, IMHO.

I doubt this will happened due to the weight adjustment is very disadvantageous against Naoya. He probably becomes slower while his technique can't adjust to his speed. I'm surprised about this match because Naoya team choose the long shot of building his career before taking a big fight like this. Fulton is not an explosive boxer like Naoya but he is good at getting points against a beast like Naoya that is adjusting his weight. I definitely vote for Naoya if this match will be on lower weight but 126 is already a huge weight increase for him to perform like what he did in the Bantamweight division. I'm not familiar on new boxer anymore but only Pacquiao is the only boxer that I know that is still very good despite a significant weight adjustment.

I'm sure the fight will be in Japan since Naoya is the crowd favourite in this match. His demand will surely be answered for a better profit of this match.

[Yamifoud]

This is a great fight for Inoue, fighting against a champion and undefeated, this is surely not an easy fight for him. However, despite my belief that it's not an easy fight, I would still be rooting for him to win, simply because I followed his career and I find him exciting to watch.

[Sanitough]

I thought I will see an Inoue vs Casimero fight, but this one is way better as he is fighting a real champion. Inoue is very dominant in the bantamweight division, but we haven't seen him fight in this new division, so we might see a different result.

Great start for the year, he will have plenty of time to prepare and maybe he will have more fights this year.

I will still hope for him to fight Casimero this year, so they'll be settled and won't throw bad words at each other.

[Questat]

Good start for Inoue, directly he proceeds to challenge the champion.

I guess this is the time that we will see a good betting odds for Inoue, because he is up against a champion, and if he will be the favorite, I believe he will only be a slight favorite. However, as a fan of Inoue who lives to bet on him getting great value, I'm hoping that he will be the underdog so a moneyline bet would be very attractive.

[coin-investor]

Fulton has super fast hands but lacks power, Inoue the monster will just eat him, Fulton is very good against weak opponents who cannot allude to his quick punches now he is going up against a fighter who is super quick super fast and has a superpower in both hands, I don't see Fulton be a threat to Inoue's reputation, he will just another stepping stone to Inoue's road to greatness, it's good that Fulton steps up to accept Inoue's challenge, there's no need for Inoue for a tune fight before he fights for the title in his new division, he can easily wipe all oppositions here in this division.

[dothebeats]

Wow, I just read about Inoue leaving his current weight division and now he gets this fight. It seems like this was already in the works months before this announcement, and Fulton being the perfect contender because the man isn't on the superstar level in the world of boxing, but he's relatively known by a lot in the boxing world due to his flawless record and above-average footwork. I don't see Fulton winning against Naoya Inoue if it comes to straight clashing, but if he uses his reach and footwork well, he may just win against the Japanese monster via decision. Although knowing Inoue, he probably would go for the kill early on and seal the deal.

[Shamm]

I was not expecting Inoue to challenge Stephen Fulton first! I was speculating that he will challenge Akhmadaliev then challenge Fulton for a unification superfight. It appears they want to first take the more difficult challenge hehe. Inoue would be making more money if he had half of the super bantamweight already through Akhmadaliev before challenging Fulton.

In any case, this will be a very entertaining year for the sport of boxing! Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, Tyson Fury vs. Usyk and Spence vs. Crawford!

If this fight will fix and inoue will face Stephen fulton then this is a good fight cause two champion will face of but inoue will go up higher weight in order to matchup fulton. This is a new journey for the monster inoue and if he win in this match then he has many chances to compete in higher division.  For sure inoue can do it and can be unstoppable in higher weight.

This fight is one of the biggest event in the world of boxing .

[chaser15]

Can't believe Inoue's promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum allow one of his favorite cash cows to go directly facing one of the Super Bantamweight Champions after moving up and won't do some test first facing other boxers here at a lower rank. Maybe they consider Fulton as not really a threat to Inoue so no more testing the environment but facing directly the champion.

The fight is also said to take place in Japan and Inoue will have the crowd advantage again.

Who believes here that Fulton might be the one who will give Inoue his first loss? If that happened, the much-awaited fight by the PH boxing community and enthusiast, Inoue vs Casimero, will be more possible to happen if the latter will win his next fight in that division.

[Baofeng]

Yes, I posted this fight here.

Can't believe Inoue's promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum allow one of his favorite cash cows to go directly facing one of the Super Bantamweight Champions after moving up and won't do some test first facing other boxers here at a lower rank. Maybe they consider Fulton as not really a threat to Inoue so no more testing the environment but facing directly the champion.

Because Bob Arum believed that Inoue can beat Fulton in the super bantamweight. Not saying that Fulton is a weak champion, but Arum knows that Inoue has the advantage in this fight. Fulton has been saying that he wants to move up to 126 lbs, perhaps he has issues with his weight already. If that is the case then he might have a problem with against Inoue.

The fight is also said to take place in Japan and Inoue will have the crowd advantage again.

This is another advantage for Inoue, he will be fighting again in Japan, there's no adjustment in the environment for him.

Who believes here that Fulton might be the one who will give Inoue his first loss? If that happened, the much-awaited fight by the PH boxing community and enthusiast, Inoue vs Casimero, will be more possible to happen if the latter will win his next fight in that division.

Even if Fulton is the champion, I don't see that he will be the one to give Inoue his first lost. He is not a heavy hitter in my opinion. His game plan was to play hard and grind, toe to toe. But that strategy won't work against Inoue because once Inoue touches that chin, Fulton might go down.