Inoue, who has won championships in three different weight classes, goes up to super-bantamweight on Tuesday to face WBO and WBC champion Fulton in his native Japan.
With 21 of his 24 opponents defeated to date in boxing’s lighter-weight divisions, Inoue is one of the most feared knockout artists in the sport.
One of the greatest fights in the boxing calendar will feature him taking on the highly competent Fulton, but the American’s trainer Wahid Rahim has expressed grave worries before the opening bell.
Rahim states In order to punch harder, Inoue has previously utilized an “excessive amount of tape.”
On fight night, a member of Fulton’s crew will be present in Inoue’s dressing room when his hands are being taped, but the head trainer has raised some questions about the match.
Rahim said at a news conference, “I talked to Fulton about my concerns, and he asked me not to discuss my concerns.”
I don’t care if he has bricks in his gloves, Fulton declared. I’ll still prevail.
“As much as I respect his bravery, I have to perform my duty and watch out for his well-being. with prior battles, Inoue and his crew have wrapped his hands with large amounts of tape, covered them with gauze, and then covered them again with tape, forming a cast.
“This is not a guess.” I can prove it. We could do the same with our hands, but where is the fighter’s level of protection?
“If this problem isn’t fixed, I won’t let my fighter enter the ring.”
“We are already in enemy territory.” Nothing, not even a request, has been made by us. Not even a rematch clause has been requested by us.
This was the only demand we had put in. I prefer that the hand wraps be wrapped securely rather than using tape on the hands or the skin.