Stephen Fulton Jr could have passed for a casual observer rather than one of the guests of honor at a media event in Philadelphia. He appeared to purposely keep a low profile, seemingly content to remain in silence.
The event, held to promote Fulton’s September 7 featherweight debut against Carlos Castro on the undercard of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, involved Fulton blending into the background with his hoody pulled up and sunglasses on. In stark contrast, Danny Garcia, wearing his own merchandise, commanded attention as he put on a show.
It has been a long time since Fulton, a former unified titleholder, last fought. He lost his junior-featherweight titles to Naoya Inoue in July via an eighth-round technical knockout. Since then he has remained mostly silent; only occasional gym footage emerged. Fulton returns the ring as the headliner of the preliminary card, before the start of the Prime Video pay-per-view.
“I want to get myself together first, then I will rematch him [Naoya Inoue],” Fulton said. He added that he feels no pressure heading into this fight, describing himself as “just a different me”.
Since his past fight, both the boxing landscape and Fulton’s team have changed. His new lead trainer is Derek “Bozy” Ennis; it remains unclear if his former trainer Wahid Rahim will be involved. His weight division has also shifted, with Angelo Leo, who Fulton beat to win his first title, a champion. Another past opponent, Brandon Figueroa – who many believe defeated Fulton – has also moved up. Fulton provided no hints about his future plans, and focused solely on his upcoming fight. Once considered a pound-for-pound talent, his name is less frequently mentioned at all levels.
“It wouldn’t make a difference,” Fulton responded when asked if he had a preference for his next opponent. “I would like to get a title at this weight class, but it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Castro enters their fight on a three-fight winning streak after being knocked out by Figueroa in July 2022 and losing a split decision to Luis Nery earlier that year.
Fulton, as elusive as has so often been in the ring, said of future fights: “Whatever comes my way.”
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