STEPHEN FULTON says his mindset will be a key factor when he fights Naoya Inoue next month.
Their highly anticipated super-bantamweight clash takes place on July 25 at the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku in Japan. It takes place just four days before Errol Spence and Terence Crawford put it all on the line in Las Vegas.
Inoue 24-0 (21) is moving up from bantamweight to take on the Philadelphian and his 24-fight record is a highlight reel for fans of devastating knockouts. During his guest appearance on the PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) podcast Fulton was asked how he will beat Inoue.
โBecause Iโm smart,โ he answered.
โI believe in my mindset. I believe in my abilities. Iโm very smart. Thereโs nothing I canโt out-think.
“I didnโt take this fight to go out there for money. Thatโs what other guys wanna do. Thatโs not my mindset. My mindset is strictly going over there because I know I can win, and I want to challenge myself while doing it. I want to put myself to the test. This is a huge f*****g fight. So why not try to live up to that moment? I didnโt just do this for money, it just so happened I was offered some nice money so thatโs the icing on the cake so letโs go do it.โ
The 28-year-old did not once break into trash talk or disregard Inoue in any way. Fulton is not over-confident; in fact, he sounds like a man in full control of his destiny. Two years ago, after beating Angelo Leo on points he predicted that one day he would fight Inoue in Japan.
โI got out the ring someone [and] came to me, an interview or something and said something about Inoue and I said who,โ Fulton recalled.
โThis was my first time ever hearing about him. I said Iโm gonna fight him. I said Iโm gonna go out to Japan. My coach said why would you go to Japan, I said itโs bigger out there. I wasnโt even talking about money. Itโs bigger. It makes more sense out there, why wouldnโt it. I said literally Iโll defend my belts out there. He said why? And I was like coz no-one wonโt do nothing like that. Iโm different. I feel like thatโs how my whole career has been.โ
Fulton v Inoue carries the potential of a fight which will produce a bit of everything. Drama, excitement, and elite skillsets that you would come to expect from two of the worldโs best. Fulton was asked how he pictured the fight playing out on July 25.
โI feel like itโs going to be a great fight, honestly,” he replied.
“I donโt wanna give too much because then I may start talking about the things I wanna do in the ring that may affect the impact of the decision and things like that. I feel like itโs going to be a great fight. Overall, I feel like itโs going to be an intriguing fight, a technical fight, a very skilful fight and [an] intelligent fight from both sides. Once weโre both in there [and] weโre warm anything can happen and thatโs my honest opinion. Once weโre going at it and trying to out-think each other that s*** [is] gonna be beautiful.”