STEPHEN Fulton was made to work for every second of his split decision victory over Carlos Castro in the T-Mobile Arena. Placed on his back in round five, Fulton was awarded the win by slim margins. Judges David Sutherland (96-93) and Don Trella (95-94) went for Fulton, while Lisa Giampa preferred Castro’s jab-laden approach, scoring it 95-94 to the Mexican-born Phoenix resident.
Looking to return to a victory groove after a super-bantamweight bludgeoning, Fulton’s featherweight debut was a baptism of fire as he attempted to get the engine running 14 months after a Naoya Inoue dismantling.
Taller Castro got into his jabbing rhythm, using his size at range rather than stepping inside as Brandon Figueroa did when he boxed Fulton. New trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, a staple of the Philadelphia fight scene, wanted more movement and bodywork from his debut charge.
‘Scooter’ was able to do just that until a potentially fight-changing right hand, beautifully delivered on the counter, deposited the 30-year-old on his back midway through the fifth round. Referee Allen Huggins dished out a count as Castro stalked for a finish that never arrived.
Battling that setback, resisting the demons of his Japanese beatdown, Fulton, 22-1 (8), reacted like a former unified champion, biting down on his gumshield to get through the round and bounce back with a strong sixth.
Castro 30-3 (14) struggled to land the right hand again with as much velocity, but not through want of trying. Rocked again in round eight, Fulton tagged the body, employing footwork and ring smarts before diving headfirst into the trenches to see out a 10-round win.
Is Fulton comfortable with the new 126-pound weight class? “Hell yeah, I feel stronger; I feel better,” he stated.
“I feel I did an amazing job in my comeback fight. I had a lot [of rust]. The ring rust played a major part in my performance.”
