Stephen Fulton experienced first hand just how hard Naoya Inoue hits.
The two fighters met back in July 2023, in what was the Japanese star’s first fight at 122lbs after becoming undisputed at bantamweight.
Fulton was the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight champion heading into the fight, and held a record of 21-0 after wins over the likes of Daniel Roman, Brandon Figueroa and Angelo Leo.
Just like many men before him though, Fulton fell victim to the power of Inoue despite some competitive action, with the fight ending by TKO in the eighth round.
Fulton has now given his take on Inoue whilst talking to Cigar Talk, explaining that Inoue’s ability to land big shots he couldn’t see coming is what made the difference.
“The power when I was sitting there and catching it wasn’t like boom, the shots that I was catching and seeing you just feel the pressure from it. It was a shot that I didn’t see that came and did it.”
Since the victory over Fulton, Inoue has gone on to become undisputed at 122lbs, thanks to a win over Marlon Tapales, and he has since defended those belts against Luis Nery and TJ Doheny.
With that in mind, Fulton has given his take on where he sees his former rival in the pound-for-pound rankings.
“He is top two. One or two. He’s at the top of the world.”
Inoue is set to return to the ring on December 24 when he defends his undisputed super-bantamweight titles against Sam Goodman.
