Stephen ‘Cool Boy Steph’ Fulton 19-0 (8) wants to unify the super bantamweight division after delivering a classy display of inside fighting to dethrone WBO 122-pound champion Angelo Leo 20-1 (9) by unanimous decision at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut on Saturday night.
The fight was contested almost exclusively at close quarters with the two busy boxers combining to throw almost 2,000 punches.
But it was the 26-year-old Fulton from Philadelphia who had the edge in activity, landing 364 of 1,183 blows according to CompuBox. Leo, 26, from Las Vegas by way of Albuquerque, landed 262 of 810 shots.
There were a lot of close rounds and the scorecards of 118-110, 119-109 and 119-109 didn’t reflect the competitiveness of the bout.
Most pundits expected Fulton to use his boxing skills to keep the fight long, but he showed that he is equally comfortable trading at short range.
“It feels good,” Fulton said afterwards. “I told you that I would engage more in this fight. I boxed a little but I engaged more to show him that I’m better than him at what he does best.
“I’m used to dealing with fighting inside the gym, inside the ring. Everyone I’ve fought tried to bully me. This time I did to them what they try to do to me. And I got the job done.
“I wore him down by attacking his body and pushing him back. I had to change the whole narrative, push him back and dropping those uppercuts in. That’s how I got the job done. From like the fifth round, that’s when I knew I was going to take off. I never got tired from engaging.”
Fulton, who hasn’t fought in 12 months, now wants to face the other titleholders at 122-pounds: WBA and IBF champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev 8-0 (6), WBC titleholder Luis Nery 31-0 (24) and WBA ‘regular’ beltholder Brandon Figueroa 21-0-1 (16).
“After a year off, I feel I did a good job but I could be a lot better, a lot sharper,” he said. “I want Luis Nery, Brandon Figueroa. I want all the champions. I want to be undisputed.”
On the undercard Ra’eese Aleem 18-0 (12) broke down and stopped Vic Pasillas 16-1 (9) in 11 rounds to claim the vacant interim WBA super bantamweight title.
The 30-year-old Aleem scored four knockdowns in the fight before the bout was stopped at the 1:00 mark.
“I was dominant,” Aleem said. “I wanted to put an exclamation point with this performance. It feels absolutely amazing. It just confirms what I knew in my head, that I have elite power. He’s one of the top fighters in the division so to knock him out, it means I’m a true threat.
“I think a lot of people were sleeping on me and my power. I wasn’t surprised that I stopped him, I didn’t think he’d be able to go the distance with me. I think a lot of the fighters in this division should really be on notice.
“It doesn’t matter who I fight next. I’m ready to fight any world champion. Whether it’s Fulton or if Murodjon Akhmadaliev wants to come out of hiding. Any current world champion that’s willing to fight, I’m ready. I’ve got the pen, send the contract.”
Meanwhile, interim WBA lightweight titleholder Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero 13-0 (11) stopped late replacement Avery Sparrow 10-3 (3) in the seventh round of their non-title fight.
The 25-year-old Las Vegas native had Sparrow on the canvas in the opening round and continued to pile on the pressure until the fight was stopped by Sparrow’s corner 43 seconds into round number seven.
Sparrow was docked two points in round six for an intentional low blow shortly after getting rocked.
Original opponent Justin Pauldo was forced to withdraw at the scales after missing weight by almost five pounds.
“Sparrow had a month to prepare because he was my replacement,” said Romero. “I was very disappointed, I really wanted to fight Justin Pauldo. But things happen – at least I had another opponent.
“I fought a dirty fighter. He hit me with a dozen, if not more, low blows, back of the head, trying to wrestle but it is what it is. I got the victory. I dropped him with that hook in the opening round. I thought it would be over but he’s slick – he knows how to survive.
“His corner did the right thing by stopping it. In that last moment before they stopped the fight, he was hurt again and there was a lot of time left in the round. He’s lucky they stopped it.”
