ONE wonders how early tonight (July 25) in the super chicken title fight in Japan, Stephen Fulton supporters, and all those who hailed his fight with Naoya Inoue as a potential classic, began to stumble across their initial predictions completely unfounded. Perhaps, around the same time that Fulton, a man undefeated in 21 games, started to realize the same thing? Or before that, when Inoue, seemingly irritated by the things Fulton had said in preparation for the match, approached the American with stares at their weights and gave him a look that said, “This match is going to be different from all the others, yes, but as you’ll discover, it’s exactly the same.”
It will be different in that many people have given Fulton the opportunity to stir up sadness. It would also be different, so far Fulton, going into the match as champion, speaking like a champion, and walking like a champion, and trying to put Inoue in his place, verbally at least, the way any self-respecting champion can.
In the end, however, it will all be the same because of the results and ease with which Inoue defeated Fulton. In fact, everything about it will be the same. His punches shocked his opponent’s eyes. The impact of these punches on their bodies. Final result. Along with all that, there was an inevitable sinking feeling that came quickly and told us we were wrong; each of us, for a man. As we’d expect, it’s not a near-equal battle, where the winner will be the one who digs the deepest or better executes their game plan and thus utilizes their distinct skill sets. Instead, what we are witnessing is just a continuation of a theme; a mismatch this time masquerading as something else.
Unlike the previous installments, Fulton vs. Inoue has a role change, with Inoue this time as the challenger. It also comes with a gripping storyline that ramps up the pace during battle week and by fight night, which seems more exaggerated in hopes that Fulton is as confident and good as he says he is than something rooted in any great belief or quality.
He is a very capable operator, that we can be sure of. However, seeing how Inoue stripped Fulton tonight, turning him so quickly from champion to someone who just closed his eyes to get through it, should serve as another reality check for those of us who can’t see the stark difference between elite-level talent and those capable of winning belts in divisions.
In terms of Inoue, of course, there is no doubt that he belongs to the very elite of the sport. Not only that, he’s starting to widen the distance between himself and the rest of them almost to the point of shame, in the same way someone like Roy Jones Jnr did in the 1990s. Suddenly, in his company and in Japan, we’re seeing tough and well-educated boxers become different when it comes to tasting Inoue’s left and right hand. In addition, we are seeing, the pre-battle stories not only change but then have to be rewritten just seconds after each match against Inoue.
Because in the end, no matter how confident a fighter appears to be before facing him, and no matter how skilled they may appear to other men, there is no test like Naoya Inoue and there is clearly no preparation for it either. That’s why on the night you see a performance like Stephen Fulton’s in Tokyo and consider it almost disappointing. That’s why the idea of winning innings against Inoue, which is practically something only Nonito Donaire has done so far, seems like an overwhelming task. After all, to win a bout requires a boxer to win rounds and if at this point we struggle to see how a boxer can go to Japan and grab any momentum from Inoue, how can we expect his unbeaten streak to end?
Inoue swings his right hand at Fulton (Naoki Fukuda)
It will, of course – most likely. That’s just the way boxing goes. But tonight there was never any doubt, once the game started, that Stephen Fulton, currently 21-1 (8), would be the one to do it. Indeed, by the time he was finally stopped in the eighth round, after a beautifully set jab into the body and a right-of-way up the stairs from Inoue, all it represented, the stop, was confirmation of what we had all come to expect in seven rounds. In an instant, all thoughts of Fulton being a direct weaker were gone. Sure enough, the idea was gone – what a far-fetched one – of him being the man who finally tamed and exposed the “Monster”.
Looking back now, how wrong we were all; maybe even to the point of making Inoue, 25-0 (22), a traitor. In the worst-case scenario, we expected Fulton to give the Japanese star some kind of Donaire-style challenge; close but not close enough. However, instead of that, he went the way of all the others. He is nothing more than them and shows nothing more than them. In fact, without his belt, and all that talk before that, we could simply be watching a repeat of any of Inoue’s previous title defenses. The fight, alas, is one-way. that frankly. That is predictable.
It’s also the feeling of inevitability that begins to infect you – and perhaps your opponent – like any good horror movie. That is to say, you know it’s coming, you’ve seen it before, but there’s still very little that can be done to stop it. In many ways, he is a great boxing jump, Inoue. For in a moment of silence, hearing only the creaking of doors and footsteps on the floorboards, you forever expect it to happen but when it finally does, the execution and its damage are so great, you are still unprepared for the fear itself.
In fact, it’s only the Japanese fans, who from time to time support Inoue, seem completely at ease in Monster’s presence. Sitting politely to watch him have dinner, they all gathered together tonight to create the most terrifying scene ever as the game ended, right around the time Fulton, battered but not sure how, left the ring to a standing ovation and a standing ovation. It was appreciation, of course, though the kind of appreciation would probably be given to a dying man who had just finished his last meal and was now taking his last walk. Or, if that’s not the case, it’s the appreciation a group of moms at school can give the chubby kid who finishes a few minutes behind everyone else on sports day. Or, if that’s not the case, perhaps what the Japanese fans said to Stephen Fulton by wishing him good-bye in this way was simply this: “Thanks for coming, Stephen. Thank you for trying. Now go home like the rest.”
