Manny Pacquiao has some thoughts on Naoya Inoue's destruction of Stephen Fulton.
Inoue moved up to the super bantamweight division to challenge Fulton for the WBC and WBO gold. Inoue had the backing of his home country, as the fight was held inside Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Many have praised Fulton for making the trip to enemy territory, but he was matched up against a truly elite boxer.
Fulton struggled with Inoue's crisp jab throughout the fight. While Fulton showed signs of life in the fifth round, Inoue wasn't fazed and continued to showcase his top notch boxing skills. In the eighth round, he cracked Fulton with a right hand, followed by a left that dropped him.
While Fulton made it back to his feet, he was on the receiving end of another barrage and once again hit the canvas. This time, the referee had seen enough and Inoue scored the TKO win to become a four-division champion.
Naoya Inoue's ability to have this much success as he continues moving up in weight has drawn comparisons to Manny Pacquiao. The boxing legend took to his Twitter account to heap praise on "The Monster."
"Inoue has great speed and lots of power behind his punches," Pacquiao wrote. "He’s a special fighter!"
Inoue's next fight is sure to be a hot topic in the coming months. He could go for undisputed status at super bantamweight. Marlon Tapales is the current WBA and IBF titleholder. Whatever the plan is, one can't deny that Inoue is one of the best, if not, the best boxer in the sport today.
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