STEPHEN Fulton is the new WBC featherweight champion after beating Brandon Figueroa in Las Vegas on the Benavidez-Morrell undercard.
The Philadelphia man came in with a point to prove and used that underdog attitude as motivation to pull it off by scores of 116-112 (twice) and 117-111. The totals displayed his dominance. Fulton had spoken in the build-up of a revenge mentality, seeking to show the doubters that he was not finished.
It was a rematch of their closely-contested 2021 affair that saw Fulton prevail by majority decision, also in Las Vegas. That was Figueroa’s first career defeat, prompting a move up to featherweight.
Fulton’s win in that first contest became a high point for him as he travelled to Japan to face Naoya Inoue, receiving a swift shelling that left his career on the brink.
The opener was more measured than expected as Figueroa opted to step off and box rather than attempt to smother Fulton, who came in wearing denim shorts and work boots. None of this strange attire seemed to stifle his movement.
Figueroa’s switch-hitting wasn’t working. The pretty boy needed an ugly fight, but his standoff style allowed Fulton to counterpunch and move through four rounds. Fulton’s counterpunching was working overtime in the middle rounds too, as Figueroa struggled to close the gap.
Brandon tried to take it to the streets in rounds seven and eight. Fulton matched him as a southpaw, flicking the jab and moving out of trouble.
The pattern continued for 12 rounds as the Texas ‘Heartbreaker’, who ultimately fell to 25-2-1 (19 KOs), was unable to change things around despite the fight slipping away.
The crowd, expecting another phonebooth brawl, booed at times as Fulton showed freshness at 126 pounds.
“I feel like he didn’t let enough shots go like he normally would,” said Fulton, 23-1 (8 KOs), who had a few choice words for those who doubted him.
“He kind of slowed down when he moved up to the 126-pound division. His punch output lowered from 122. I used my jab, listened to my corner and I thought his power was the same.”
