Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue, who vacated his four world championship belts to move up in weight to the super bantamweight division, said Saturday he has zero anxiety ahead of his showdown with undefeated WBC and WBO champion Stephen Fulton - which takes place on July 25th.
During a media workout at his Ohashi Boxing Gym in Yokohama, Inoue explained that he was in perfect form for the upcoming contest, because being at super bantamweight allows him to pack on four more pounds than he was able to have at the bantamweight limit of 118-pounds.
Inoue cleaned out the bantamweight limit by capturing the WBO, IBF, WBC, WBA titles to become undisputed.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Stephen Fulton vs Naoya Inoue.
- Date: Tuesday, July 25
- Time: 4.30 a.m. ET / 9.30 a.m. BST
WBC & WBO super featherweight champion Stephen Fulton and challenger Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue will meet on the rescheduled date of July 25th this summer in a 12 round bout at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
“By moving up from 118 to 122 pounds, I feel more comfortable, stronger and sharper,” said Inoue, who won world titles at 108 and 115 pounds prior to unifying all four major 118-pound belts (and earning The Ring’s bantamweight title).
“I’ve also improved my speed.”
After skipping rope and before shadowboxing, his manager/promoter Hideyuki Ohashi abruptly told him to stop training, so as not to expose his moves to Team Fulton, who were in attendance.
The previous day, Fulton stunned the Japanese press with his brief workout. It lasted only 2 minutes, 45 seconds.
“I don’t like to show my training,” The Ring’s No. 1-rated junior featherweight said as he left the Ohashi Gym.
Fulton just shadowboxed for a minute, hit a punching ball for 30 seconds and landed only three shots to a heavy bag.
“Naoya Inoue’s best asset is his excellent timing, rather than his power punching,” he said. “But I’ll be able to outbox him by fighting intelligently.”
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