Firstly, I do not believe that Naoya has cheated in his fights, and “Hand-wrap stacking” is not illegal in all jurisdictions. It is yet to be confirmed if Naoya Inoue has indeed been doing this before his fights.
This allegation had came about in a recent press conference for the upcoming fight between Naoya Inoue and Stephen Fulton.
It could be argued that this is a type of mind-game, to try and derail Inoue’s efforts come fight night. Other possibilities include attempts to postpone or cancel the fight, or simply bring information to light.
We shall what we unfold as this situation develops; additionally, there is further I would like to add on this subject.
Miguel Cotto had fought Margarito when it was confirmed that Margarito had used calcium sulfate (otherwise known as gypsum) in his hand wraps to provide a denser material. The effects of this were observable, as Margarito was able to inflict damage with minimal effort.
The hand-wrap stacking that Inoue is being accused of, simply doesn’t compare to this; in the event that anything was found to be illegal, then I’m sure the teams of Inoue’s opponents would have made observations during the hand-wrapping process.
The fact that this is only being brought to light (and I use this expression) now, makes me think that this is not being made in good faith.
Finally, I shall reserve further judgement until more information is released; should the fight continue, I hope the best man wins (I will be posting a prediction soon).
