Stephen Fulton’s trainer claims to have proof Naoya Inoue has been illegally wrapping his hands for fights and is ready to pull his man out their world title fight if the issue is not resolved.
Knockout king Inoue is already a three-weight world champion and moves up to super-bantamweight to take on WBO and WBC champion Fulton in his native Japan on Tuesday.
Inoue is one of the sport’s most fearsome knockout artists having stopped 21 of his 24 opponents to date, a remarkable record in boxing’s lower weight classes.
His showdown with the supremely skilled Fulton is one of the biggest fights on the boxing calendar but the American’s trainer Wahid Rahim has revealed major concerns ahead of the opening bell.
Rahim claims Inoue has used ‘excessive amount of tape’ in previous fights to pack a bigger punch.
While a member of Fulton’s team will be present in Inoue’s dressing room while his hands are being wrapped on fight night, the head trainer has thrown the contest into some doubt.
‘I talked to Fulton about my concerns, and he asked me not to discuss my concerns,’ Rahim told a press conference.
‘Fulton said, “I don’t care if he has bricks in his gloves. I will still win.”
‘As I admire his courage, I have to do my job and look out for his safety. In previous fights, Inoue and his team have wrapped his hands with an excessive amount of tape on his skin and then put gauze and more tape, which creates a cast.’
‘This is not an assumption. I have proof. We could also wrap our hands in the same fashion, but where is the level of safety for the fighter?
‘If this issue isn’t resolved, I will not allow my fighter into the ring.
‘We are already behind enemy lines. We have made no requests, nothing at all. We have not even asked for a rematch clause.
‘This is the only request that we had made. I would like for the hand wraps to be wrapped in a safe manner, not with tape on the hands or on the skin.’
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