We have seen some of the up and coming talents in the Welterweight Division in tick-along fights, while Maxi Hughes has to still be feeling pretty sick having not had his hand raised against former Undisputed Lightweight Champion George Kambosos Jr this past weekend.
The calm in July since the opening Saturday of the month has all largely down to this last week in the month when two top fights have been scheduled to take place within a few days of one another.
One fight that I'm sure all have been looking forward to comes up on Saturday when Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford finally duke it out for all of the marbles in the Welterweight Division. There is a rematch clause in place, but that is likely to be at Light Middleweight and so the entire 147 pound Division is set for a reset with the likes of Jaron Ennis expected to fill in the gaps.
I've long hoped to see Spence Jr and Crawford decide the best Welterweight in the ring and it should be a top fight, but first the attention is on Japan where Naoya Inoue looks to win a World Title in yet another Division.
He became the Undisputed Bantamweight Champion in his last fight, but Inoue has been looking for another challenge and this is a legitimate test for the Japanese Monster when facing Champion Stephen Fulton.
Robeisy Ramirez looks to be the main attraction on the undercard and there has been some talk that he could be a potential opponent for the winner of the main event in the future.
The Boxing Picks have suffered through a really poor first seven months of the season and that is a disappointment after the winning record produced in 2022. There is time to turn things around with a bit more consistency from the results, but it is key to start putting the winners together.
Stephen Fulton vs Naoya Inoue
You can't be anything but impressed with the way Naoya Inoue has dominated opponents in his professional career and he is moving up yet another Division in order to find a challenge.
If you are being picky, you could suggest that Inoue missed out on some huge names in the Super Flyweight Division, but his crushing of opponents at Bantamweight to become the first Undisputed Champion at 118 pounds in fifty years has to be admired.
Now he moves up four more pounds to take on the legitimate King of the Super Bantamweight Division.
Stephen Fulton might 'only' hold two of the four belts at 122 pounds, but his win over Brandon Figueroa is the stand out in the Division, while his 'easy' win over Daniel Roman speaks volumes. He has had over a year out of the ring since beating Roman, but the unbeaten American has shown a lot of confidence by actively pushing for this fight with Inoue and also being willing to travel to Japan to take on the home fighter.
There is no doubt that Fulton is daring to be great and he has plenty of reason to believe he can beat The Monster.
Size is clearly on the side of Fulton, while he is a slick, smooth boxer that has shown he has a number of ways he feels he can win fights. Boxing skills are not in doubt, although he is facing an opponent in Naoya Inoue who is anything but a one trick pony relying on power to overwhelm opponents.
In wins over Paul Butler and Nonito Donaire, Naoya Inoue has shown his own skills in the ring and carrying power in both hands makes him very dangerous. A smart boxer like Inoue will be difficult to deal with if Stephen Fulton chooses to stand and trade with the naturally smaller man in a bid to show he can handle the power, but the Champion is expected to keep Naoya Inoue on the end of the jab and not allow him to set and hit.
As we have seen many times with fights like this, there is a feeling that Naoya Inoue only has to be perfect for a second, while Fulton will have to be switched on for every moment of the likely thirty-six minutes he will spend in the ring. Stephen Fulton can hit hard, but it is unlikely he takes risks to push for a Stoppage unless he has Inoue completely bamboozled, while I also think the home fighter is far more than just a power puncher.
He hits hard, but he is a very good boxer too and that makes this a compelling contest between two quality Champions.
Picking a winner is not easy, but you have to feel that Stephen Fulton is being under-rated at the 3-1 prices being quoted.
You have to hope that Fulton is a little more cautious than he was in the win over Brandon Figueroa as Naoya Inoue is a better boxer and more skilled at finding openings than Figueroa who did push Fulton all the way.
Skills and slickness on the road is not always a good way to get to a Decision, especially against a popular home fighter like Naoya Inoue, but Stephen Fulton has to establish the jab and use his size to keep the distance. If he can do that, I do think he can put together enough Rounds to win the fight and it does feel like Fulton will be motivated by having most believing this is just another notch on the Hall of Fame resume being put together by Naoya Inoue.
It feels important to know that Stephen Fulton wanted this fight and was willing to make concessions like travelling to Japan to get it done- he clearly feels he has the beating of Naoya Inoue and this is a fight that is a lot more competitive than the odds would suggest.
The Monster is a great fighter to watch and he has shown how good he is, but Stephen Fulton's Phili-style can come through and it feels like he can win a razor thin Decision on the road and ultimately get ready for a rematch State-side later this year.
We have Robeisy Ramirez on the undercard and the newly crowned WBO World Champion at Featherweight makes a relatively quick return to the ring.
Losing on his professional debut was unexpected for a two time Olympic Gold Medal winner, but it did not hurt Vasyl Lomachenko who lost his second pro fight, and Ramirez has done the same as the Ukrainian in becoming a World Champion in double quick time.
There has been plenty to like about the Ramirez climb up the Rankings and this feels like a tick-along fight for him after the relative cruise to beat Isaac Dogboe and win the vacant WBO Title in April.
Satoshi Shimizu is also a former Olympian, but at 37 years old it feels like his journey in the professional game is going to be much shorter than most. He was being lined up for a World Title bid when Stopped by Joe Noynay in the Sixth Round in July 2019 and the Japanese boxer has had just three fights since then.
This is an opportunity for him, one that he may not have felt he would have been given if this card was taking place in the United States, rather than Japan.
The home fighter clearly has some pedigree with his amateur career, but Robeisy Ramirez is expected to have control of the fight and should have far too much for Satoshi Shimizu.
Inactivity is a problem for the 37 year old, while he is taking a considerable step up in level and was effectively found out once before when doing that. The Stoppage was against someone in a Division higher than this one, but Ramirez has shown he can go through the gears and get opponents out of there once he has them figured out.
With one more fight expected later this year, Robeisy Ramirez won't want to have to go too long and the feeling is that he can break down Shimizu relatively early.
MY PICKS: Stephen Fulton to Win @ 4.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Robeisy Ramirez Win Between 1-6 @ 4.20 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Boxing 2023: 33-60, - 24.72 Units (175 Units Staked, - 14.13% Yield)
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