Re: [Boxing] Stephen Fulton vs. Naoya Inoue | WBC & WBO 122 lbs bout

Quote from: Yamifoud on Today at 01:43:57 AM

Quote from: harizen on June 09, 2023, 08:50:12 PM

And it now happened, WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Marlon Tapales might now be the PH boxer who has the chance to face Naoya Inoue first, instead of the expectation of the majority, that it's Casimero who is currently still climbing the 122 division rankings. Of course, Tapales meeting Inoue soon will just happen if the latter will win against Fulton.

If Stephen Fulton wins against Naoya Inoue, Marlon Tapales instead will unify his belt against him. If Fulton still wins, Tapales might meet Inoue as both will be a contender but the status of Casimero when that time comes might still be hanging because he can't even secure a big fight "for now" to somehow give him a chance to climb at a much higher rank.

There's also a possibility that later in the 122 division, a PH vs PH might face each other.

Well then, too early for these speculations mine

. What matter here is, Tapales is now almost secured to have the next big fight on his timeline.

Nice speculation. That paints a clear picture of what could possibly happen, and we'll have to wait for the outcome of this fight. I know everyone is hoping for Inoue to win, but in case he fails, at least we can still witness a big fight as Fulton will most likely be up for a challenge before moving up to a higher weight class. Casimero's past mistakes continue to haunt him, as he still struggles to secure a significant fight. It's truly a wasted opportunity for him.

It's the fans of Casimero and himself that are hyping that Inoue is scared of him. But the fact is Inoue is busy collecting belt after belt for his legacy while Casimero is having problems with his weight and then facing opponents that are not marketable in the US. Nonetheless, if Casimero continues to win even with not popular opponents he will still get his title shot next year. His reputation as a 3-division world champion is too much to be ignored by these sanctioning bodies. I won't even be surprised if he will fight for an eliminator later this year.

I am glad that Tapales will have his chance to become the first ever undisputed from Ph. Although he will remain an underdog and the task is very difficult. He needs to train very hard and focus on himself.

Mandatories are coming up in this division next year. The WBA wanted former unified champion Akhmadaliev to fight for an eliminator while the IBF already set its own eliminator. The WBC already has Nery but he might be given a final eliminator. Casimero might be given by the WBO the chance for an eliminator.