Naoya Inoue says he’ll continue to follow the Japanese rules with how his hand are wrapped going into his fight with WBA & WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton on Tuesday, July 25th, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
(Courtesy: Naoki Fukuda)
This is the double-wrap that Tim Bradley talked about, which makes the hand heavier. Fulton’s trainer took issue with that, making a complaint at the final press conference, saying that he wouldn’t let Stephen fight unless this is changed.
Now that the former three-division world champion Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs) has made it clear that he’s not going to change the way his hands are wrapped, it’s up to Fulton to decide whether to pull out, accept it or do the same thing by putting lots of tape on his hands as well to duplicate what Naoya is doing.
If Fulton can put extra tape on his hands, he should be able to get the same results to improve his own punching power.
It would have been better if Fulton’s management had discussed this issue during negotiations and made it a condition for the fight with Inouee to go ahead. If they knew the rules in Japan allowed for extra tape on hand wraps, they should have insisted the fight take place in the U.S.
“Japan has its own local rules. Out fight will be held in Japan on July 25th, so, of course, I will follow the Japanese rules,” said Naoya Inou on social media in reacting to the complaint from Stephen Fulton’s trainer about the way his hands have been wrapped.
“I want to see who reigns supreme in a match-up like this. I love the fact that this fight was made because you don’t see guys like this wanting to engage in fights like this,” said Tim Bradley to ESPN on the Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue contest this Tuesday in Tokyo.
“Inoue wants to be special, and he wants to be among the realms of Manny Pacquiao, and the reason why I think he going to be just okay is because he has the legs to move up. He has the foundation. He’s going to be able to take the pressure that’s going to be coming his way from a bigger man,” said Bradley.
“I don’t know if Fulton’s mastery of distance will help him enough here. He’s a Philly guy, and when he comes inside, he’s going to have to deal with that left hook to the body from Inoue,” said Mark Kriegel.
“Inoue is going to have to deal with giving away two inches in height and three inches in reach,” said Bernardo Osuna. “The speed determination here could be a big factor and the other thing too. I got to give Stephen Fulton all the credit in the world because he accepted this fight when he’s the champion.
“He said, ‘I don’t mind going across the world just like Devin Haney did betting on himself, saying, ‘I believe in my skills against this guy,’ and Fulton is facing his sixth undefeated opponent.
“He’s not taking these belts from guys that are mediocre. He’s facing top opposition, and if you need him to get gritty, he gets gritty. If you need him to outbox you and get slick, he’ll do it.
“He took body shots from Brandon Figueroa, who is vicious at that, and he still came out on top. All that stuff prepares him for Naoya Inoue.
“Now, if Inoue pulls it off in the way that we think he’s capable of doing, then that’s going to be a great discussion for who is the #1 pound-for-pound fighter depending on how Spence and Crawford goes. This guy is earning his respect by fighting Naoya Inoue, and Naoya Inoue is trying to make history becoming a d four-weight champion,” said Osuna.
