Speaker 1: We have this now, let me set it up thusly.
You're about to hear from Stephen Fulton. And this was
an interview conducted over a month ago now because we
have been waiting to play this for the build up
to fight week. Here for his fight with Oshaki Foster
that was originally supposed to be part of the fight
card right with Sebastian Fundora and Keith Thurman. That got
over October October twenty fifth, So Fondora got hurt. You
had done the interview. The interview is still good. The
interview is still Stephen Fulton talking about fighting Oshaki Foster
for Foster's WBC one and thirty pound title. All right,
so let's go to this conversation now for the Q
and A with the Philadelphia fighter who's the WBC featherweight champion.
Moving up in wait. This is on the undercard of
the PBC Prime Show PBC Prime Video pay per view
that is in San Antonio, Texas. Here is Dan with
Steven Fulton.
Speaker 2: So I wanted to start off with your last fight,
which was an impressive win where you defeated Brandon Figuerreau
and you won this WBC featherweight title that you have
in a rematch when you guys fought a few years earlier,
back in twenty twenty one, that was to unify the
titles in the junior featherweight division. It was a tremendous fight.
A lot of people had it as a Fight of
the Year candidate. You won a majority decision. A lot
of people thought that he should have been the winner
of the fight. So I wonder when you went into
the rematch and you won and there was no dispute
this time, it was a very clear cut victory. How
much did it did it mean to you to show, like,
you know what, forget about whatever the dispute was, I'm
the better guy. I beat this guy clean this time. Yeah?
I mean was that like important to you to show
that there was no dispute this time about the outcome
of the fight.
Speaker 3: Honestly, I just wanted the bow. I wanted to be
two division world change. I just wanted to bow.
Speaker 2: Do you feel like you per formed better in that
fight though, than you did the first fight? Because the
first fight, whoever won, it was a really close fight.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think I performed a lot better.
Speaker 3: Uh. I saved myself some years by now getting into
a war, right so that was good as well.
Speaker 2: Was it a matter of maybe from the experience of
going to twelve with him in the first time around
that maybe yeah.
Speaker 3: I was familiar with them. Yeah, I was familiar with him,
his style. What's not being a ring with you one time?
Then the next time it is like, all right, I
got I got you? How you operate?
Speaker 2: After you won that fight and you won the title,
like you said in the second division, that was after
though you had moved up from one hundred and twenty
two where you had been a world champion. Uh. After
you or I mean after you defeated him in the
first fight, you moved up to you you went on
I should say, uh as a unified champion, defended the title.
Then you traveled to Japan. You did what a lot
of people don't want to do. You went over to overseas,
to the enemy territory. Well, you're not scared.
Speaker 4: I know that these fighters be scared. Maybe acting tough,
but they really be scared.
Speaker 2: Like I said, you showed you were no fear in
you because you did travel to Noi in a ways
home turf in Japan.
Speaker 4: You were a champion.
Speaker 2: He was the undisputed bantamweight champion. Moving up, you were
the unified junior featherweight champion obviously. Uh. You know that
was a tough night for you. Didn't win the fight.
He stopped you in round eight.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: But was there anything positive that you could take from
that experience of, like you said, having a fearless nature
to go there, to give it everything, to fight in
front of that crowd, and to be in the ring
with one of the best fighters in boxing.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I could take I took some positive things
from me, Oh yeah. And one of it was experience.
It allowed me to be had more experience, and now
when I do fight, Yo, Like when I fight in
the United States, I don't be nervous or anything like.
That's why I just walk around confident, but like just
quiet or just like unbothered at times when I'm at
these press conferences or facing like when I'm fighting in
the United States, now, I'll be unbothered.
Speaker 4: And I feel like it's because of the experience of me.
Speaker 3: Breaking that barrier, of that comfort zone being uncomfortable. Because
I first went to Japan, it was a little bit
uncomfortable at first, but I was like I'm here now,
so here.
Speaker 2: Like you said, you you you gained the experience there.
So are you saying that when you got there you
were there were maybe more nerves than usual when you
were getting ready.
Speaker 3: It was just because it was a different element. But
I wasn't nervous for the fight. I was just it
was nervous, but of where I was, where I was,
like my location and me just looking at everything I'm sitting.
Speaker 4: I'm really across the whole world.
Speaker 3: Somebody you really crazy, Like you're really crazy, I said,
I know, That's why I do that. I get a
rush out of the challenge myself and doing and things
like that. So when loser draw, that's that still was
like an amazing experience for me.
Speaker 2: Did you realize Steph, that a lot of people, whatever
the result of the fight was that you among the
boxing public and among the boxing press, even though it
wasn't a victory, you got so much credit for being
the one guy that raised his hand and said I'll.
Speaker 4: Go there and fight the guy as the champion.
Speaker 2: Right? Did that at least give you like a positive
attitude about it even though it didn't go the way
you hoped it would.
Speaker 4: You know, I didn't.
Speaker 3: I didn't care about it because that's That's how I
always been. I've always been as a since a child,
I've always been the one that said, you know what,
or I do it when everybody else was scared to
do something. Even as a kid, I was the one,
all right, I'll do it. That's how I got this mark.
Speaker 4: On my on my head like you probably can't see it, right,
it was. I had a little dent right there and everything. Everybody.
I used to be like a little daredevil. I think
I might have passed out.
Speaker 3: I got up too high and I came right down
on my feet boom, and I slid.
Speaker 4: How they had to rep my head. He was it
a hospital.
Speaker 2: Looking back on the experience, how good is in a way?
You're the guy that was in there in front of
him in the ring, and a lot of people have him.
Speaker 4: He's good.
Speaker 2: That's you fought. Yeah, he beat me, okay, fair enough. Well,
I mean look after that, you moved up to featherweight. Yeah,
you got a good victory against Carlos Castro and the
eliminator that sets you up for the title fight that
you won this WBC title and now you're going to
one hundred and thirty pounds to challenge O'shaki Foster for
his WBC title in that weight class. How did the
fight come about to you? Because it kind of to
me anyway, not that it's unusual for a featherweight champion
they move up and fight a junior lightweight champion, but
this particular matchup, but to me anyway kind of came
out of the blue. Was this a fight that you
were campaigning for or did somebody from your team bring
it to you or did they make an overtore to you?
How did it all come about?
Speaker 4: Both?
Speaker 3: I had it in mine, but somebody from my camp
brung it to me as well. But I had it
in mine and was who I wanted to Plus I
knew I wanted to go up and fight for that belt.
Speaker 2: For the one hundred and thirty Was it against any
hundred and thirty pounds belt or Foster in particular?
Speaker 3: It was really any but like that was more reasonable.
So it was like, h he did say something before,
so let me let me, let me let me go
up there and handle that.
Speaker 2: So if you win this fight, you do become a
three division world champion. You've been a champion at junior featherweight.
You are currently a featherweight champion. You would then become
the one hundred and thirty pounds or eight hundred and
thirty pound champion. What would that accomplishment mean to you? It's, uh,
you know, lots of guys have done it, but it's
still pretty uncommon to become a three division world champion.
Speaker 3: It mean a lot, It will mean a lot. Yes,
So that's my that's that's my main goal is to
you know, I'm just I'm just starting. I'm be honest,
I'm just starting to get motivated, like today for.
Speaker 2: The fight or just yeah, for the what is it
about today?
Speaker 4: You know how it is in a fight week, like,
well you have you haven't been a fighter.
Speaker 2: I know how it is as a as a media person,
not as that's gone.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So as a fighter, when you're around the atmosphere
of the of the fight, that's when it feels like
a fight, like all right, yeah, all right, you.
Speaker 4: Get that movie like okay, I'm out to fight. Really
about the fight?
Speaker 3: Doing these interviews is what's making me like, oh damn,
really about the fight is right here?
Speaker 2: Okay, Well, I guess I'm glad to help it. I'm
glad to help with the motivation. Uh, as you go
to one hundred and thirty. Though, when you think in
the in the in the more in the future, if
you do it all, do you feel like this is
your maximum weight or do you have harbor like the
desire maybe someday I'm gonna try to be a lightweight champion. Yeah,
I'll go up, you will go up again. So is
it fair to say then that whatever happens against Foster,
that you are done as a featherweight and that you
will win or lose your vacate or would you, if
you win or lowise, come back to featherweight to do something,
especially if you were the winner, to defend the titler
or have you not thought about that?
Speaker 4: When I went out stayed there at one thirty, So.
Speaker 2: All done at one twenty six?
Speaker 4: Then say at one thirty?
Speaker 2: Okay, fair enough. How do you feel like can match
up with Foster? He's a couple of inches taller than you,
maybe a little longer in reach, a similar number of
professional fights between you two guys.
Speaker 3: Feel like it's a good fight, Feel like it's a
good matchup, It's an exciting matchup. He's a box I'm
a boxer, so we'll have to error. Both parties will
have to switch things up and see how we'll fight
each other.
Speaker 4: My job is to make the adjustments.
Speaker 2: He's run. He's a talented guy. I've watched him fight
plenty of times. He runs a little hot and cold,
do you know what I mean? Like even in fights.
Sometimes when he wins, it's maybe not this, and he'll
be the first to admit it's maybe not the best performance.
And you know, and the one time he lost, obviously
it was not a great performance on his behalf either.
How do you how do you think that he stacks
up with you in terms of his skills, his power,
his speed, things that you may have seen if you
watched any videos of him, that type of thing.
Speaker 4: That last part again, just just I'm asking.
Speaker 2: Like your thoughts when you've watched, if you've watched video
thoughts on him? Yeah, how you match up with him?
Like you know, speed, defense, power, you name it.
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, have you watched videos of the guy? Like
a minute, you leave that to your trainer. I guess, yeah, Okay,
well I guess you can. You can give me a
more detailed explanation after the fight, I suppose.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I could then I could talk to you
and you know what, he did this good, he did
that good, he did that bad. And that's why capitalize
on for this is that X, Y and Z.
Speaker 2: You know, you're kind of one of the guy's carrying
the mantle right now for Philadelphia boxing. A great boxing community,
been great history in Philadelphia. Uh how is the state
of Philly boxing?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 2: You are a champion, you know you got drawn boot
Sennis he's uh was the unified welterweight champions now moved
up to the dream middleweight division. But what's the story
in your mind with the Philadelphia boxing scene right now?
Speaker 3: Like it's good because then you have younger guys coming
up under us, like Seline Bay. He's a great amateur
that's coming up as well. So we have some great
talents coming up under us. But I feel like right
now me and Booths is holding the city down for
the long run. And I've been doing this so far
for some years now.
Speaker 2: Yeah it's been it's been a while, but you're still
a young guy though you're only thirty one years old.
So do you do you feel like you got years
left to go? Are you looking at the exit ramp?
Speaker 4: A little bit of booth.
Speaker 2: Can you expound on that a little bit.
Speaker 4: We've been doing I've been looking.
Speaker 3: I feel like I have some more years on me,
and then a part of me still be like I
want to be done with it. We've been doing this
since we was kids, since I was twelve thirty one.
Speaker 4: So that's like.
Speaker 3: You get tied of training, making weed, you get tired,
You get tired of all that stuff, not even just
the training aspect.
Speaker 4: I don't really get tired of training. I get tired
to make a week.
Speaker 2: Maybe one of the reasons why. Someday, like you said,
you'll be a lightweight. But first things first, you got
big physics. We'll do it one hundred and thirty pounds
against Shocky Foster. Right, So I will just say thank
you very much for your time. I wish you the
best of luck.
Speaker 4: Thank you. I like the white I like where you're
going there with all the Santa look.
Speaker 2: Thank you very much.
Speaker 4: A little bit under there, you got the right that
little pepper under here, though, you gotta get that too.
Speaker 2: A little bit a little bit of pepper, all right, step,
Thank you very much, man, I appreciate that. See take
care