Naoya Inoue's Flaws...

Inoue by KO.

I don't think he's that good of an infighter. It's not really a knock since infighting is a lost art to a degree. I think Steph will have the advantage if he can make it that type of fight. That would be a mistake on Fulton's part. Rodriguez got knocked in the inside even if he himself was pushing the action. The left hook that got Donaire in the second round was in the inside too. Inoue trains an arsenal of such little inside tricks, just that most fighters don't stay in the pocket to taste it, preferring to run away instead

Havent seen any so far. Maybe Fulton can find some. If not, gonna be a short night

I don't think he's that good of an infighter. It's not really a knock since infighting is a lost art to a degree. I think Steph will have the advantage if he can make it that type of fight.

I agree. I think the only criticism is that he doesn't utilize a ton of head movement, but he also doesn't get touched much in fights. He slips and rolls a ton of shots and doesn't really get hit more than the likes of Crawford and Canelo who are both considered slick. It's not a flaw but a choice. He avoids moving his head too much while punching to not add up his movement to possible counters. Very visible in the Moloney fight where Moloney was consistently moving his head where Inoue's punches went to meet him, while Inoue took some to deliver some but didn't add anything to Moloney's punches

yeah, coolboy steph fight will be very telling. first dangerous fighter he’s yet to face. lolwut?!?

His distance control is phenomenal aswell. He seems to always be at the perfect distance to get in and out without being hit. Completely agree.

His only flaw is he doesnt weigh 147 pounds. There are a bunch of interesting fights for him in or around welterweight.

Clearly His mayor flaws aré defensive skills. He has good defense, but he take punches easily. Donaire landed a lot of power punches AND destroyed His face in first fight. AND that was a Shadow of Donaire He has been fighting against very poor rivals His whole career. He Is a fantástic fighter but he has a lot yo prove His only signature wins Is against a very very old Donaire This fight against Fulton would be great I agree. I think the only criticism is that he doesn't utilize a ton of head movement, but he also doesn't get touched much in fights. He slips and rolls a ton of shots and doesn't really get hit more than the likes of Crawford and Canelo who are both considered slick. The difference Is canelo fought against 100 better rivals than inoue Inoue was punched More times against a very shot Donaire than Canelo in hus fights against GGG, Bivol, kovalev, Smith, fights...

Inoue is solid, but he has many gaping flaws with his offence that he gets away with due to his opponents fighting scared, not having power or lack of boxing IQ. His last opponent was a punching bag that allowed him to get away with everything and it was hard to watch. He doesn't have a good active guard to layer his offence to cut off the ring. Any person with a good boxing mind is not going to let him get away with it and he will have trouble with cornering them.

There are no glaring flaws but if he added more head and upper body movement, he'd be even more unstoppable.

the guys hes fought arent very good its as simple as that, can show me all the rankings you want not one fighter he has fought is any where near anyones p4p list... not hard to look unbeatable if the opposition isnt very good and it never is at them weight classes very few american/eastern euros are small enough to make them weight divisions... donaire stepped up to the big boy weight classes got whooped a few times and was able to come back down at 40 years old and be one of the best fighters in inoues division and gave him a tough fight which says it all... Yeah, Coolboy Steph fight will be very telling. First dangerous fighter he’s yet to face.

He relies more on his guard than his head movement. Inoue doesn’t seem that elusive but as you said he doesn’t get hit too much either. His distance control is phenomenal aswell. He seems to always be at the perfect distance to get in and out without being hit.

Have you seen him live? Walking around in street clothes. But never in a boxing match. Scalpers in Japan make it hard to tix to his fights.

He doesn’t interview in English, tends to fight mostly in Japan! Have you seen him live?

the guys hes fought arent very good its as simple as that, can show me all the rankings you want not one fighter he has fought is any where near anyones p4p list... not hard to look unbeatable if the opposition isnt very good and it never is at them weight classes very few american/eastern euros are small enough to make them weight divisions... donaire stepped up to the big boy weight classes got whooped a few times and was able to come back down at 40 years old and be one of the best fighters in inoues division and gave him a tough fight which says it all... You can only beat who's available. How many of the current top 10 p4p fighters have beaten anyone else in the top 10 p4p or even likely HOF'ers or looked unbeatable? Beterbiev hasn't beaten anyone. Canelo only arguably beat Golovkin. Golovkin hasn't beaten anyone and arguably lost to Derevyanchenko and Danny Jacobs, neither who are close to p4p. Crawford hasn't beaten anyone. Loma hasn't beaten anyone. Spence nearly lost to Shawn Porter. Jermell nearly lost to Castano. Josh Taylor should've lost to Catterall. Tank hasn't beaten anyone. A way over the hill Chisora gave Usyk a tough fight and Wallin, a nobody, gave Fury a tough fight and those guys are nowhere near p4p. They're not even top 10 in their own weight class. So does that say it all as well?

He doesn’t interview in English, tends to fight mostly in Japan!

the guys hes fought arent very good its as simple as that, can show me all the rankings you want not one fighter he has fought is any where near anyones p4p list... not hard to look unbeatable if the opposition isnt very good and it never is at them weight classes very few american/eastern euros are small enough to make them weight divisions... donaire stepped up to the big boy weight classes got whooped a few times and was able to come back down at 40 years old and be one of the best fighters in inoues division and gave him a tough fight which says it all... Roman and Estrada blatantly ducked him. Nonito's a certified ATG with one of the most potent left hooks in history. He had 4 highlight reel KOs before and after the first Inoue fight. The only reason Inoue looked "vulnerable" in the first Nonito fight was because he had his eye socket broken in the second round. We saw what happened in the rematch when Inoue wasn't fighting with double vision. And just as a basis of comparison, a prime and rampaging Nonito looked pedestrian against Narvaez. Couldn't hurt or drop him. 7-0 Inoue destroyed him in 2. Tell me what P4P fighters did the following names beat: Crawford Spence (Mikey was a lightweight despite having fought at 140 before) Usyk Lomachenko (Rigondeaux was tiny, but Rigondeaux begged for the fight) Fury Stevenson Haney Charlo Canelo (robbed GGG twice) Only Bivol has a P4P name on his resume in Canelo.

I think if he faces an equal will powered/skilled opponent such as Donaire in their first fight, he can have some trouble. I mean Donaire marked him up pretty good and landed good shots. Made him look mortal in that fight. Granted, since then he hasn't. I'm not sure whose another Donaire in the division that will come with the will power to win and not just accept his inevitable KO loss. If Naoya moved up to 126, probably Robeisy could beat him if he remained at the division.

I think if he faces an equal will powered/skilled opponent such as Donaire in their first fight, he can have some trouble. I mean Donaire marked him up pretty good and landed good shots. Made him look mortal in that fight. Granted, since then he hasn't. I'm not sure whose another Donaire in the division that will come with the will power to win and not just accept his inevitable KO loss.