Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue Tips & Predictions from Rob Tebbutt, Carl Frampton, Shawn Porter & more

Our resident boxing expert Rob Tebbutt provides his best bets for Tuesday’s blockbuster bout, whilst an array of fighters, trainers and promoters also provide their pre-fight predictions.

Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue Tips
Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue Industry Predictions
Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue Bet Boosts >>
 

Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue Tips
Rob Tebbutt’s Shout

This coming Tuesday in Japan, we see a massive fight in the super-bantamweight division as pound-for-pound superstar Naoya Inoue looks to become a four-weight world champion.

He steps up from bantamweight and has gone straight for the number one in the division, the unified world champion, Stephen Fulton.

I am leaning towards Inoue in this fight; he is one of the best boxers on the planet and one of the hardest punchers too, but he can box, has good feet, great ring IQ - he just has everything!

I do think that the natural size advantage of Fulton up at 122lbs will give Inoue plenty of problems, but I expect Inoue to get the job done during the second half of the fight.

Fulton is a very calculated and good defensive fighter, but I just wonder whether he will be able to keep Inoue off him, which is why I am looking at him to get that stoppage between Rounds 7 - 12 at 12/5.

If you feel the fight will go the distance then there is definitely some value in getting on Inoue via a Decision at 9/4 too.

But if you are siding with the unified super-bantamweight champion Fulton to retain his titles and maintain his very impressive run, then you can get a BOOSTED price of 5/1 on him doing so via a Decision or Technical Decision.

For me though, I will definitely be backing 'The Monster' to become a four-weight world champion, and the 12/5 on offer for a stoppage in the second half of the fight will be my play.
 

Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue: Industry Predictions

Bob Arum
Boxing promoter

I don’t think anybody beats Naoya Inoue. ‘The Monster’ is the monster and he is ‘The Monster’ for a reason. I am really blessed to have the three hardest punchers in boxing, which is Inoue, Artur Beterbiev and Tyson Fury. My fighters don’t mess around they just come to knock the hell out of the other guy!

Naoya Inoue to win ‘By KO, TKO or Disqualification’ - 10/11
 

Shawn Porter
Two-time world champion

There is a lot of love around the Terence Crawford v Errol Spence fight, which is unfortunate given that this fight is also taking place at a similar time. This is a huge one too, and for me, it is a real 50/50 fight. 

What I do really like about Stephen Fulton though is that he has shown us previously that he can do multiple things. In a fight, he can adjust to the situation depending upon what is needed on the night. I don’t know what to expect from Fulton on fight night other than the fact that he will be prepared.

Naoya Inoue has real power though, but if Fulton offsets that power, then what happens? 

Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue ‘Draw or Technical Draw’ - 16/1
 

Carl Frampton
Former two-weight world champion

Stephen Fulton has a chance! I was out in Philadelphia around about 10 weeks ago and Fulton was already up to sparing eight rounds or so. He is an extremely fit guy, he has a great lung capacity, and what he does in terms of runs and everything, he smokes everybody. 

When Inoue fought Nonito Donaire, I said that Nonaire had a chance, and I didn’t just say that because he is my friend - I genuinely believed he had a chance - and in the first fight he put in a really good performance. 

Like Doniare, Fulton has more than a chance of winning this fight! He is a real live dog in this fight. He has beaten a number of undefeated fighters throughout his career and I am genuinely hoping he can pull it off on Tuesday.

Stephen Fulton ‘To Win Fight’ - 53/20
 

Dave Coldwell
Boxing trainer

This is a tough one to call, genuinely! Yes, Naoya Inoue maybe has the big fight experience and we all know that he can really box, but that doesn’t mean to say that I would be shocked if Stephen Fulton won the fight, because I wouldn’t be.

I am leaning towards Inoue, but this is just one of those great fights where you have two fighters who are both capable of beating each other. At top level boxing that is all you want to see, and that is what you expect to see. These are two world champions going against each other, and I can’t wait for it.

Naoya Inoue ‘By Decision or Technical Decision’ - 9/4
 

Dan Rafael
American boxing expert

Aside from Terence Crawford v Errol Spence, this is the other fight I am most looking forward to this year! We have the undisputed bantamweight world champion - albeit he has vacated those titles now - stepping up to take on literally the number one fighter within the 122lbs division.

Fulton isn’t scared of this, he wanted to go to Japan to take on Inoue. He has made it clear that this is the fight he wants, and now he has got it! He knows what his skills are and he knows he is tangling with one of the best body-punchers of all-time, but he believes in himself.

I can’t wait for this fight, I’m not sure which way it will go, but just being able to witness it is like a gift from the heavens in my mind - it’s a beautiful fight.
 

Lee McGregor
Unbeaten bantamweight prospect

This is a really good fight and it will show everybody just how good a fighter Naoya Inoue is! The size is going to be a big difference. Fulton is not just a clever boxer, but he can also fight on the inside too and it really is a difficult one to pick. I sway from one to the other when I am trying to pick a winner.

It’s going to be explosive, but I guess if I had to pick then I would go with Inoue, but I don’t say that with a lot of confidence. His explosiveness is scary; it’s just whether he can carry that up another weight division…

Naoya Inoue ‘To Win Fight’ - 5/18
 

John Ryder
Super-middleweight world title contender

I'm a massive Naoya Inoue fan; he never fails to disappoint. There is only one winner for me. At those weights, at the lower-levels, it isn’t really a big step up for them to take so I don’t think that will affect Inoue at all. If anything, it can be to an advantage, so I see nothing other than an Inoue win over in Japan.

Naoya Inoue ‘To Win Fight’ - 5/18
 

Shaun Brown
Boxing News writer

It’s the toughest assignments in each of Naoya Inoue and Stephen Fulton’s careers. Inoue’s power is almost super-natural, and for Fulton to win this, he is going to have to fight absolutely perfectly for 36 full minutes. Inoue only has to be perfect for one second, so I will be backing him to get a late stoppage in a fight that could take a little while to really heat-up

Naoya Inoue to win ‘Between Rounds 9 - 12’ - 4/1
 

Stephen Fulton v Naoya Inoue: Bet Boosts >>

Bet Builder
Fight Result: Naoya Inoue
Under 7.5 Rounds
Was 19/10 >> Now 21/10

Fight Outcome (5 Way)
Stephen Fulton by Decision or Technical Decision
Was 9/2 >> Now 5/1

Round Group Betting (2)
Naoya Inoue to win in Rounds 11 - 12
Was 10/1 >> Now 11/1

View all boxing Bet Boosts >>
 

Odds and Bet Boosts >> displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation or withdrawal.