Julian Williams and Stephen Fulton have something in common and it isn’t just being titleholders from Philadelphia. Both have taken losses and revived their careers after knockout losses in a title fight.
Fulton defeated Brandon Figueroa this past weekend in a rematch of their 2022 bout, winning the WBC featherweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Williams, 34, lost in his first chance at a title to Jermall Charlo in 2018. Then he won when he was being written off, upsetting junior middleweight titleholder Jarrett Hurd in a fight that cemented his status in the sport forever.
Fulton, who defeated Brandon Figueroa this past weekend in a rematch of their 2022 bout, went from being a pound for pound level fighter to becoming an after-thought after his loss to Naoya Inoue.
Saturday’s fight was a reminder of just how good Fulton is.
“I see greatness,” Williams told BoxingScene when asked about Fulton’s win on Saturday. “I’m just super proud of that dude. I think he put it all together when he had to on the right night. He boxed a beautiful master performance. I think he deserves all the credit he gets and probably even more, because he was a big underdog. I’m happy for him.”
Is it a Philly thing to reinvent yourself the way Williams and Fulton have? Williams isn’t so quick to say so.
“For every two guys like me there are 10 guys that would have lost,” Williams said. “ I really don’t think it’s a Philadelphia thing. Philadelphia fighters are definitely special in many different ways, but I don’t think we’re special in that way, to be honest with you. I think that’s an individual thing. Everybody can’t come back after a loss.”
Fulton, 23-1 (8 KOs), now is a two-division titleholder and sits firmly in the mix of some very interesting fights.
“Boxing is a sport of winning and losing,” Williams, 29-4-1 (17 KOs) said. “All sports and life in general are sort of about winning and losing. You can’t let the loss affect you to the point where you can’t continue to work hard. You can’t continue to dream. You can’t continue to push yourself. If it’s affecting you that bad, you probably should stop.”
Williams has his own fight against Yoenis Tellez on March 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The interim WBA junior middleweight bout will be part of the pay-per-view undercard of Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jr.
Williams has had multiple setbacks in his career, the most recent being a stoppage loss to Carlos Adames in 2023 when he attempted to move up to middleweight and capture an interim title. Williams spoke about the mental toughness that is needed.
He is, after all, an underdog once again heading into his fight with Tellez.
“You’ve got to be mentally tough because boxing is a cold game,” Williams said. “Because when you lose they are not going to let you forget about it.
Lucas Ketelle took an unconventional path to boxing, eventually finding his stride in gyms and media. For the past decade, he has hosted the “Lukie Boxing” podcast, filmed training camps for fighters like Arnold Barboza Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Caleb Plant, and worked with top professionals such as Mike Bazzel. Ketelle is also an author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for ProBox TV, BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.
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