Naoya Inoue dominates and stops Stephen Fulton in the 8th-round, after decisively winning multiple round before.
Fulton could not establish a rhythm, he was unable to establish the jab and didn’t utilise feints.
Fulton did have some success with right-hand counters, but Inoue walked through them, completely untroubled by Fulton’s power.
It looked like Fulton had got a feel for Inoue’s power from the first round, and this likely rendered him more reluctant thereafter.
Inoue was front-footed, confident, and command in his performance, establishing the jab and ring-control from the first round.
Once Inoue had closed the distance and trapped Fulton, he would begin to work combinations, landing power punches: left-hooks and straight-punches.
Inoue’s straight-punches were the real difference maker, hurting Fulton frequently; it was this very punch that decided the outcome of the fight.
When Inoue landed a sharp and power right-hand in the 8th, Fulton was knocked down, and couldn’t recover quickly enough to survive the round.
He was dropped again, resulting in the referee intervening and stopping the fight.
Inoue has decisively proven himself as a world-champion at super-bantamweight.
Finally, what’s next for Inoue? Rumour has it, a fight with Marlon Tapales is in the works; this will be for the undisputed position at super-bantamweight.
Please refer to the following post from Boxing Scene: https://www.boxingscene.com/inoue-keen-on-undisputed-showdown-versus-tapales-lets-this-this-year–176422
