Fulton vs Roman Preview
Two title fights will headline a loaded card in Minneapolis on Saturday June 4th. The headliner will be at junior featherweight as Stephen Fulton will defend his WBC and WBO belts against former champion Daniel Roman.
Fulton (20-0, 8 KO) is coming off a majority decision win over Brandon Figueroa in November to retain his WBC belt and win the WBO junior featherweight title. Fulton also held the IBF junior featherweight title in 2019 with a win over Olympic boxer Paulus Ambunda.
Fulton is ready to put on a show this Saturday. “After I beat this guy, I want MJ next, sometime in October or November, and it has to be MJ,” said Fulton, who owns Can’t Be Stopped Promotions. “It’s for the undisputed (junior featherweight) championship. It’s something I want and something everyone wants to see, or they will see more of me. I swear, I’ll go butt-ass naked if I don’t get what I want, swinging from the microphone hanging down the center of the ring (laughs). Whatever is loose is going to be loose, until the security guards come and tackle me.”
The 27—year old went on to say, “People are going to want see me again (laughs). Seriously, for a second, I’m going to dominate this guy. This is what I want. I’m going to force people to see more of me. If that’s the way it has to be, it’s the way it has to be. I don’t want a fight in Philly until more of my hometown people come out and support me. If I can get MJ in Brooklyn, that would be great. I have good people around me. I have people that I trust who I know will take care of me.”
Fulton reflects on his last fight and opportunities. “I look back at the Figueroa fight now, it’s something I’m happy with. When I beat him, he was acting like a douche. I’m giving Roman an opportunity when he didn’t give me an opportunity. I’m just not happy with where I am. Everything is bothering me about the boxing game, it’s at the fans, it’s everything. I’m one of the top guys in the sport and I come from a smaller weight class. This boxing game needs a plunger stuck up its you-know-what.
“I’m focused. I just don’t care about fighting this guy. Honestly, I know I’m the better fighter and after coming out of the last fight I was in there is nothing or no one that can stop me. I feel that confident about this fight. I feel so confident, like I said, I could beat him butt-naked. Then I’m going to run out into the stands and make the Showtime cameras chase me.
“I’m going to force the boxing world to see more of me.”
Roman is a former unified junior featherweight champion having held the WBA unified and IBF titles from 2019 to January 2020, while he held the WBA regular title from 2017 to 2019. He is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Ricardo Espinoza Franco last May. He lost the WBA and IBF titles in January 2020 to Murodjon Akhmadaliev by a razor thin split decision.
Roman feels more than prepared to once again become unified champion. “It’s been a great training camp. We’ve been getting ready for the best in the unified champion Stephen Fulton,” Roman said. “It’s a fight you have to see. We’re going to have the same energy that I’ve had on social media. You can consider him the best in the division right now. He’s the champion I want right now.
The 32-year-old went on to say of Fulton, “We know that Stephen Fulton can make the right adjustments. It’s going to depend on the fight he brings and the fight I bring. Whoever makes the best adjustments is going to win the fight. You could say it will be like a chess match. I can do a little bit of everything and he can do a little bit of everything as well. It depends who makes the right adjustments that night.
“This is a fight where I can earn a lot of respect. That’s what every fighter wants. Even when I became a unified champion, they still had me below the other champions. I think that goes for Fulton as well. Everybody is trying to prove themselves as the best in the division. This is the fight. I’m fighting against who is considered the best in the division and I get a chance to be back on top.”
Roman also address Fulton’s claims that when Roman was champion he ignored Fulton’s callouts. “It’s true that when I was the champion, Fulton was calling me out and I didn’t give him the chance,” Roman said. “He called me out and I had different plans. I wanted to unify the belts and be undisputed. I’m thankful that he’s given me the chance to fight him now that he’s champion”
The word is in for a great fight between a hungry challenger and champion who feels he has something to prove.
The co-main event of the evening will be at super middleweight as WBA “super” champion David Morrell will defend his title against Kalvin Henderson.
24-year-old Morell became a champion in just his third professional fight after a long and successful amateur career. He has defended the belt twice but will face his toughest test as of yet on Saturday with Henderson.
The Cuban fighter knows what he is up against in Henderson. Henderson is a very durable fighter who has never been stopped. I’m aiming to be the first person to knock him out. He’s had a lot of time to prepare for this fight, so I know he’ll be coming in great shape. He also has a lot of power, so I must be at my best defensively,” said Morrell.
The champion (6-0, 5 KO) has plans after a victory on Saturday night. “A victory will set up a major showdown with David Benavidez or any of the top contenders or champions. It’s no secret that I’m coming for Benavidez. I know a great performance on June 4 will lead to some big-time fights, against some big-time names.”
Henderson (15-1-1, 10 KO) is coming off a second round TKO victory over Robert Burwell in October. The win was a big rebound after losing his first fight in his previous matchup by unanimous decision to Isaiah Steen.
The 31-year-old fighting out of Fayetteville, Arkansas is relatively unknown, but will have a chance on Saturday to prove he is worthy of being in the conversation at super middleweight by defeating a fighter who at the moment carries a ton of hype.
