Stephen Fulton fights Naoya Inoue: Can the gritty slickster defeat a monster?

WBO and IBF super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton is undefeated in 21 fights. His preference is to box, but he can rumble when necessary. 

See the Brandon Figueroa fight. He’s slick and gritty. Controlling the distance is his specialty. 

On July 25th, he’ll be tangling with a monster in his backyard.

Smart?

“I believe in my mindset. I believe in my abilities. There’s nothing I can’t out-think. “I didn’t take this fight to go out there for money. That’s what other guys wanna do. My mindset is strictly going over there because I know I can win, and I want to challenge myself while doing it. I want to put myself to the test.”

The oddsmakers have installed Naoya Inoue, a 3-1 favorite. I think they’re wrong here. Fulton can win. 

"The Monster" Inoue has fought 24 times, scoring 21 knockouts. He’s looked destructive, like last year when he destroyed the future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire in less than five minutes.  

Inoue picked up his first world title (108 pounds) at 21, stopping Adrian Hernandez in six rounds. The belt was in the light flyweight division. Eight months later, he knocked out Warlito Parrenas. Inoue captured the WBA bantamweight in 2018 by knocking out Jamie McDonnell in the first round. The IBF title was his a few months later.  

Inoue and Donaire fought for the first time three and a half years ago. Donaire was 36 and past it, but on this night, he gave Inoue his toughest fight. Inoue picked up the WBA super world bantamweight belt. He made four successful defenses of his belts - then faced Paul Butler for all the belts. The bout was over in round 11. 

Super bantamweight was next, and Stephen Fulton was the opponent. 

Fulton is likely the quickest fighter Inoue has ever boxed. He also has an edge in height. 

Donaire, for one, believes Fulton can defeat Inoue. 

“With Inoue going up in weight and Fulton being the champion, you know, I have to give a slight edge to Fulton because Inoue has never fought anybody like Fulton,” Donaire told BoxingScene.com. 

Inoue knows what he’s facing. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever fought an opponent like Fulton, but at the same time, Fulton can say the same for me.”