Stephen Fulton has won world titles in two weight classes. O’Shaquie Foster says Fulton is biting off more than he can chew by going for a third when they meet in Las Vegas on October 25 on the pay-per-view undercard of Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman.
“The 130lb division runs through me,” Foster was quoted as saying in a press release. “Respect to Stephen Fulton Jnr for stepping up in weight, but he’ll find out real soon that he should have stayed at featherweight.”
Foster, 23-3 (12 KOs), won the vacant WBC junior lightweight belt in February 2023 with a unanimous decision over another featherweight titleholder, Rey Vargas. Foster then made two successful defenses, including a come-from-behind knockout of Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez with less than a minute to go in their October 2023 battle, and a split decision over Abraham Nova in February 2024.
But Foster lost his belt in July 2024, dropping a split decision to Robson Conceicao. He regained it last November, this time getting the better end of a split decision in his rematch with Conceicao.
This will be Foster’s first fight of 2025. The 31-year-old was expecting to face Fulton in August on the undercard of an anticipated rematch between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach Jnr. But that rematch didn’t happen – Davis is instead facing Jake Paul in a massive event this fall – and so Foster-Fulton wound up on a new date.
“I’ve gone through a lot in this game to become a two-time world champion,” Foster said. “I will take full advantage of this opportunity.”
Fulton, 23-1 (8 KOs), won the WBO junior featherweight belt in early 2021 with a wide decision over Angelo Leo and then added the WBC title in his very next fight, taking a hard-fought majority decision against Brandon Figueroa. Fulton added a decision victory over former unified titleholder Daniel Roman in June 2022 before losing his belts via eighth-round TKO to Naoya Inoue in July 2023.
Fulton then moved up to 126lbs. He struggled to a split decision win over Carlos Castro in September 2024 but looked significantly better, far more acclimated to his new weight class, this past February, when Fulton won a much clearer unanimous decision over Figueroa in their rematch. The win over Figueroa earned Fulton the WBC featherweight belt.
“I'm ready to become a three-division world champion,” Fulton said in a press release. “I expect him to be ready, but that’s why I’m training to be at my best on October 25. We’re gonna be prepared for anything he brings and do whatever it takes to have my hand raised. I’m coming to steal the show.”
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
