Tale of the Tape: Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue
We look at how Stephen Fulton, the junior featherweight champion of the world, stacks up against former undisputed bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue ahead of their upcoming fight Tuesday in Tokyo. Odds courtesy theScore Bet and Barstool Sportsbook.
Fulton returns to the ring for the first time in more than a year. This will be the most daunting task of his career, with Inoue stepping up in weight after dominating the bantamweight division.
The fight was originally set to take place on May 7 but was postponed after Inoue sustained an injury during training camp.
"Cool Boy Steph" has had his way with the junior featherweight division since debuting in 2014, going a perfect 21-0. Fulton's latest victory came in dominating fashion over Daniel Roman in June 2022.
Inoue vacated his bantamweight titles in January after dismantling Paul Butler. Appropriately dubbed "The Monster," the Japanese sensation has won 21 of his 24 fights by knockout and immediately asked for, and was granted, the best fighter in his new division.
"I honestly thought, I don't need a tuneup," a confident Inoue said of stepping up to challenge Fulton at junior featherweight.
While Inoue has walked over everyone he's faced, including Nonito Donaire twice, Fulton will be no easy task. The Philly native is a gifted boxer. He might have the right amount of polish and technique to stymie Inoue's aggressive power-punching attack, even if he has to do it in Japan, where Inoue has confidently won his last three fights.
"Going out to Japan, living up to the moment and defeating him in his country, that's major," Fulton said.
This will be the fifth weight class Inoue has fought in during his remarkable career, with the 30-year-old orthodox fighter reaching new heights.
"I'm pushing the boundaries of my build, my limits. Even I don't know how it's going to go," Inoue said about adding another division to his resume.
If Inoue can move up in weight again to claim gold in yet another class, it'll be hard to argue he isn't the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world. However, if Fulton stops the runaway freight train, he can lay claim to fame as the only person to beat the great Inoue.
Tuesday's fight, unfortunately, goes down at 4:45 a.m. ET for a North American audience. But the bout should be a fight for the ages and one of the most explosive and skill-laden boxing events of 2023.