Stephen Fulton Hoping to Become Champion Over Luis Nunez
The agenda is two-fold for Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton (21-1-1, 8 KOs) as he prepares for his June 15 contest against unbeaten Luis Reynaldo Nunez (19-0, 13 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. One, Fulton is looking to wash away the pain from his loss to Naoya Inoue. Secondly, Cool Boy Steph believes a win over Reynoso will make him a two-division world champion.
Fulton’s last ring appearance was a nightmare. In July 2023, he put the 122-pound titles on the line against Naoya “Monster” Inoue. Fighting on Inoue’s home turf of Japan, Fulton was dominated and ultimately stopped in eight one-sided rounds.
Since that fight, Fulton has been mostly out of the spotlight. But during an exclusive interview with Ring Magazine, the 29-year-old talked about where things went wrong against Monster.
“I should have trained harder than I did. Other than that, I do not want to say too much about that. I think my mindset is more different. I have added to my arsenal, I am over it. I am just completely comfortable with speaking about it. I feel like I could have done far better than I did.”
Fulton further explained that he struggled to make the 122-pound junior featherweight limit. As a result, he was physically weak and couldn’t get his punches off.
CHANGE IS NEEDED
Believing that he’s learned from that fight, Cool Boy Steph has decided to continue his career at featherweight. Additionally, he has a new lead trainer in Bozy Ennis, the father and manager of reigning IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
During his days as a world champion, Fulton was considered one of the better all-around fighters in the sport. He could fight a variety of styles to win. It will be interesting to see what Ennis can add to his style. Can he help Fulton wash away the bad memories from his last fight?
WHAT COULD BE AT STAKE
Raymond Ford is the current WBA featherweight champion. He defends that belt against Nick Ball on June 1 in Saudi Arabia. Should Ford win, there’s an expectation that he will vacate the title. That means that Fulton versus Reynoso could be for the WBA featherweight title. Whether his upcoming fight is for a world title or not, Fulton believes 2024 is the start of big things.
“This is a huge year for me. I plan on being a three-time world champion this year. That starts June 15. That is what I was told.
I can’t wait. The only one who can stop me is me. I feel like that about my last fight, too. I could have trained and worked harder for my last fight than I did, but there is no sense in crying over spilled milk. I am ready to step into those uncomfortable spots and work hard again.”
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