Philadelphia boxer Stephen Fulton came back from 'losing it all.' Now, he can be a world champion again.

Matt Breen, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan 31, 2025

Published in Boxing

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PHILADELPHIA — The plane ride home from Japan feels even longer after you lose your world title and taste defeat for the first time as a professional boxer. But it provided Stephen Fulton — the former super bantamweight champion from West Philadelphia — two years ago with the time to reflect.

“Having everything and losing it all,” Fulton said, “makes you think about all the things you’ve done in your life and appreciate the things you’ve done and also appreciate yourself more and love yourself more. When I lost the title, I lost family, friends, those things. You have to regroup.”

Fulton was knocked out in Japan by Naoya Inoue in July 2023 and then knocked down a year later in his next fight against Carlos Castro. But he was not ready to fold. Fulton rallied, earned a decision against Castro, and righted his career. On Saturday night, Fulton (22-1, 8 knockouts) has a chance to become a champion again when he meets WBC featherweight champ Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“I learned a lot about myself,” said the 30-year-old Fulton, whose fight is broadcast by Amazon Prime pay-per-view. “No matter what I go through, I feel like I can overcome it.”

Figueroa’s only career loss is a decision to Fulton in November 2021. That fight made Fulton a unified champion at 122 pounds and gave him one of the signature wins of his career. Saturday is a rematch at a different weight class as this is Fulton’s second featherweight fight — he moved up to 125 pounds after losing to Inoue. Fulton is also training now with Bozy Ennis, the father of Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Ennis, Hamza Muhammad and Wahid Rahim share Fulton’s corner.

“It’s like the best of both worlds on my behalf,” Fulton said. “Bozy has a different style than maybe Hamza and Wahid might have. So when you combine their styles, it all works out at the end of the tunnel.”

It would have been easy for Fulton to fold last September after he touched the canvas in the fifth round, just 14 months removed from a difficult loss. His career was at a crossroads as he returned to his corner. But he was urged to keep pushing, and he did. On Saturday night, Fulton can be champion again.

“I might have been knocked down but I’m going to get back up, stay focused, and get the job done,” Fulton said. “People always face adversity in life. It’s all about how you react to it.”