On Saturday, the long-awaited battle between unbeaten junior featherweights Stephen “Cool Boy” Fulton Jr. and Angelo Leo went down, with Fulton capturing his first world title.
#TheNEW!!! @coolboysteph defeats Angelo Leo in an instant classic, protecting his undefeated 19-0 record and taking the WBO World Super Bantam Title back to Philly. #LeoFulton #PBConShowtime pic.twitter.com/p0vT4sdtdu
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) January 24, 2021
The ringside judges scored the fight 119-109, 119-109, and 118-110, earning Fulton a unanimous decision. The war was the main event of 2021’s inaugural SHOWTIME Championship Boxing broadcast.
Philadelphia’s 122-pound rising star missed the first booking of the bout originally scheduled for August 1st after testing positive for COVID-19.
"Everyone I’ve fought tried to bully me. This time I did to them what they try to do to me. And I got the job done." 🥇
— @CoolboySteph, WBO World Junior Featherweight Champion #PBCPhotoOfTheWeek | 📸 : @ShowtimeBoxing pic.twitter.com/huvBnNnGrr
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) January 24, 2021
The Premier Boxing Champions event took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena bubble in Uncasville, Connecticut.
“It feels good. I told you that I would engage more in this fight. I boxed a little, but I engaged more to show him that I’m better than him at what he does best,” said Fulton.
“I’m used to dealing with fighting inside the gym, inside the ring. Everyone I’ve fought tried to bully me. This time I did to them what they try to do to me. And I got the job done.”
"I wanna pursue my goals, the only goal I've been screaming, to be undisputed." – @coolboysteph becomes #TheNEW WBO World Super Bantam 👑 and is one step closer to making his dream come true. #LeoFulton #PBConShowtime
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) January 24, 2021
Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) executed a pugilistic masterpiece that ended Philadelphia’s world championship drought to become the WBO junior featherweight world champion.
An accidental clash of heads in the opening round opened a cut over the left eye of Leo. Ultimately, it did not play much of a role in the outcome of the fight.
The two fighters combined to throw 1,993 punches, with Fulton throwing 913 power punches. The punch output ranks third all-time in junior featherweight division history.
Leo (20-1, 9 KOs), a Mayweather Promotions fighter who entered the ring an unbeaten world champion, engaged in a phone book fight that saw Fulton with the more efficient output.
Fulton, 26, has now toppled eight undefeated fighters in his young professional career.
“I wore him down by attacking his body and pushing him back. I had to change the whole narrative, push him back, and dropping those uppercuts in. That’s how I got the job done. From like the fifth round, that’s when I knew I was going to take off. I never got tired from engaging.
“After a year off, I feel I did a good job, but I could be a lot better, a lot sharper. I want Luis Nery, Brandon Figueroa. I want all the champions. I want to be undisputed.”
