Stephen Fulton vs Brandon Figueroa – Results & Post-Fight Report

In a card packed full of close contests, the main event at Park Theatre in Las Vegas was a war, and Stephen Fulton added the WBC super bantamweight title to his WBO belt with a majority decision win over Brandon Figueroa.

Fulton picked up the WBO strap in his last contest, defeating Angelo Leo widely on the scorecards, while Figueroa won the WBC title to go with his WBA ‘Regular’ crown last time out, halting Luis Nery with a wicked body shot in seven rounds. The WBA trinket had to be discarded, as the organisation don’t recognise secondary titles for unification fights.

After a first round where the pair figured each other out and jockeyed for position, Figueroa was intent on being the aggressor in the contest, while Fulton relied more on his boxing skills, and the second saw Figueroa back Fulton into a corner with a sharp left hand. The two traded in the third, and ‘Cool Boy Steph’ got the better of the action, landing on the counter and backing his man up in the exchanges. Figueroa was using rough tactics to impose himself on his opponent, but Fulton landed a couple of eye catching uppercuts in the fifth. It was effectively what you liked, with both men scoring points for their unique styles, and exchanging with regularity.

Fulton had the better of round seven, but Figueroa seemed to hurt the WBO boss in the eighth with a body shot. The ninth was a phone box affair, and Figueroa had the better of the tenth, but Fulton looked strong going into the final couple of frames, standing his ground in the penultimate round before fending off Figueroa in the last.

A drawn scorecard of 114-114 was as good as it got for Figueroa, as the remaining judges preferred the accuracy of Fulton, who took two 116-112 verdicts to become the unified champion.

Figueroa was far from happy with the result, but Fulton now moves closer to a potential undisputed title clash with WBA (Super) and IBF king, Murodjon Akhmadaliev. A rematch could also be a possibility.

Ra’eese Aleem claimed the vacant WBO NABO super bantamweight title on the undercard, taking a majority verdict against Eduardo Baez. A drawn scorecard of 95-95 was overruled by scores of 98-92 and 96-94 in Aleem’s favour.

A third majority decision finish came at bantamweight, where Gary Antonio Russell edged out Alexandro Santiago over ten rounds. Two scores of 96-94 for Russell ensured the win, trumping a third card at 95-95.

At super lightweight, Rock Dodler Myrthil suffered a first defeat in 18 contests, as he was halted in nine rounds against Kevin Johnson. Mexican featherweight Aaron Alameda forced Angel Antonio Contreras to retire from battle after four rounds. At lightweight, Kenny Davis Jr took a split decision victory over six rounds against Nelson Hampton.