Stephen Fulton (left) pitched a near-shutout in his determination win over Daniel Roman in June 2022. (Picture by Ryan Hafey/ PBC)
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Stephen “Scooter” Fulton brazenly wonders what extra he has to do. The previous WBO and WBC junior featherweight titlist feels he deserves to be on the pay-per-view portion of this Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez- Edgar Berlanga undercard from the T-Cell Area in Las Vegas. The frustration has induced Fulton to be uncharacteristically brief with media. It’s tarnished a profitable, jovial character and made him a little bit surly.
Possibly it’s precisely what Fulton (21-1, 8 knockouts) wants when he takes on Carlos Castro (30-2, 14 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight combat on the preliminary, pre-PPV portion of the Alvarez-Berlanga card. It should mark the primary time in 14 months Fulton might be combating since his first professional loss, an eighth-round knockout to junior featherweight world champion Naoya Inoue final July 25 in Tokyo.
“You already know I’m offended, offended at myself for not being extra ready, not being one of the best model of me within the Inoue combat,” Fulton admitted in July when speaking to The Ring at a membership present in Philly. “I’m not saying I might have crushed Inoue, or he would have crushed me, however one of the best model of me was higher than how I carried out. That’s what pisses me off. I had to try myself. I discovered so much about myself, issues I have to sharpen about myself professionally and personally. I don’t wish to dwell an excessive amount of on the previous. However I’m totally different.
“Count on me to look totally different.”
Inoue could be the solely fighter on the earth who might beat Fulton between 122 and 126.
However Fulton doesn’t wish to hear that.
He has modified trainers, shifting from coach/supervisor Wahid Rahim to coach Bozy Ennis, the daddy, supervisor and coach of his son, IBF welterweight titlist Jaron “Boots” Ennis, though Rahim has continued to be Fulton’s supervisor. Fulton pressured a change needed to be made. Each imagine it was in one of the best curiosity for every of them.
Being off the PPV, the Castro combat presents the chance for Fulton to be seen doubtlessly by the biggest TV viewers he had ever fought earlier than.
“From a enterprise side, Scooter is in superb place proper now,” Rahim mentioned. “He’s one combat away from combating for an additional world title. He does have an opportunity to combat earlier than a big viewers. This can be a psychological check for him. Scooter is a former world champion, acknowledged all through the world by boxing followers. He was within the beginning 5, and to him proper now, being off the pay-per-view, that is like he has to come back off the bench once more. Individuals should perceive one thing: This child has been handed nothing. Al Haymon and PBC have been superb to him, don’t get me mistaken.
“However Scooter needed to earn his technique to the highest. Personally, I don’t really feel like he’s coming off the bench. It’s only a matter of him proving himself once more. I respect Bozy 100-percent. I didn’t need Scooter to take the Inoue combat, as a result of Scooter was the champion, and the champion shouldn’t must journey to defend his title. However Scooter is a particular fighter. He’s keen to anybody anyplace, so he went. We agreed the coaching factor was not working with us. We had been pals earlier than we had been working collectively, and I like him. We’ll all the time be pals. I nonetheless deal with his enterprise. With Bozy on board, that is really a profit to our complete workforce. This took day without work my plate as his coach and provides me extra time to work on his enterprise and his future.”
However why has Fulton been so offended not too long ago?
Anybody that is aware of Fulton additionally is aware of that isn’t actually his persona. He has been brief with media (who don’t know him), he has given brief solutions to questions and has projected an angle that he does wish to be bothered. In different phrases, the exact opposite of Fulton’s upbeat character.
“I perceive that, and we do know, that isn’t who he’s,” Rahim mentioned about Fulton. “The fact is, which he’s very proper about, he has put a lot work into being a star, he appears like he’s ranging from sq. one once more. The enterprise facet of it’s this combat will give him extra publicity. I do know he nonetheless has lots of damage from the Inoue loss. I do know that, you already know that, everybody who is aware of him is aware of that. He is aware of he might have completed higher, much better than he did. That pisses him off. It pisses me off.
“We hope that is the primary of two fights this 12 months. We need to combat once more in December. I’ll say this, Carlos Castro higher watch his ass. Scooter wanted that kick within the ass Inoue gave him. He has a lot expertise, a lot capability that Scooter typically doesn’t see it himself. That may come out in opposition to Castro. I can’t look by Castro. I do know Scooter gained’t. I do know he’s able to explode.”
The grand scheme for Fulton, must be beat Castro, who’s on a three-fight profitable streak since a July 2022 stoppage defeat to Brandon Figueroa, is to face the winner of WBA featherweight titlist Nick Ball’s October 5 protection in opposition to Ronny Rios in Liverpool, England.
“When Scooter is at his greatest, targeted, prepared, nobody, not even Inoue, might beat him,” Rahim pressured. “I don’t simply significantly assume that; I do know that for a reality. The one one who might Stephen Fulton is Stephen Fulton. I inform him that on a regular basis.”
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Journal/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America.
Comply with @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]