Stephen Fulton Unifies Super Bantamweight Title by Majority Decision

It was not a classic, but it was brutal as Stephen Fulton pulled out a majority decision over Brandon Figueroa to remain undefeated and to win the battle between super bantamweight world titlists on Saturday.

Marco Antonio Barrera versus Erik Morales it was not.

WBO titlist Fulton (20-0, 8 KOs) was able to withstand the heavy-handed blows from WBC titlist Figueroa (22-1-1, 17 KOs) and take his title at the Park MGM in Las Vegas. It was a back-and-forth battle that showed each fighter’s strengths.

For the first four rounds it was quite sloppy as Fulton clinched every time Figueroa reached within holding distance. The referee never seemed to warn the fighters from using grappling tactics. It was more frustrating to watch than a turtle race.

Suddenly, in the fifth round, a real fight broke out and despite fighting at close distance, both world titlists exchanged body and head shots like fighters from the 1950s. Uppercuts from Fulton scored and Figueroa body shots could be heard.

The fight was on.

Figueroa seemed to benefit from the inside fighting and cornered Fulton while unleashing a flurry of powerful body shots.

Philadelphia’s Fulton started quickly in the eighth round and looked to be taking over the fight. But Figueroa found his rhythm and rallied furiously with multiple body shots and thudding lefts.

Momentum seemed to change again as Figueroa began advancing behind jabs and body shots. Fulton was not overrun but selective in firing counters in-between the Texas fighter’s shots. It was risky stuff, but the best option.

Figueroa connected with several consecutive lefts in the 10^th round, and it seemed the fight was turning strongly toward his favor. Fulton looked hurt by the blows but never went down. It was an important factor in the fight.

Though Fulton may have been hurt more than Figueroa, it didn’t matter. As long as he did not go down.

With only two rounds remaining it was tough to decide a clear-cut winner as both became entangled over and over again. It was up to the judges to decide who they favored more. One judge scored it a draw 114-114, but two others saw it 116-112 for Fulton.

“This was a war,” insisted Fulton.

Figueroa was upset at the scoring.

“I hurt him five times,” said Figueroa who endured his first loss as a pro. “Everybody knows who won.”

Fulton was respectful but slightly upset.

“It was a close fight,” said Fulton who now holds the WBC and WBO super bantamweight world titles.

Fulton now can face the other unified super bantamweight titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Ironically, that fighter is trained by Joel Diaz who also works with Figueroa.

Other Bouts

Raeese Aleem out-worked Eduardo Baez and showed a heck of a chin to defeat the rugged Mexican fighter after 10 rounds by majority decision in their super bantamweight title eliminator.

Aleem took big overhand rights and seemed unfazed in punching and punching Baez in every round. Neither fighter ever seemed very hurt except Baez who suffered cuts on his forehead due to two clashes of heads.

Gary Antonio Russell (19-0, 12 KOs) pulled out a win over Mexico’s punching machine Alex Santiago (24-3-5, 13 KOs) to win by majority decision after 10 rounds in a bantamweight eliminator.

Russell dominated early but Santiago caught his footing in the second half of the fight by targeting the body. Things turned around but in the last round Russell seemed to save the win by connecting with a left that stunned Santiago.

One judge scored it 95-95, and two others saw it 96-94 for Russell.

“I feel I clearly out-boxed him,” said Russell. “I feel I’m ready next for a champion.”

Santiago felt Russell won due to home country judging.

Photo credit: Esther Lin / SHOWTIME

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