Stephen Fulton is back to prove himself once again when he takes on Carlos Castro

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Stephen “Scooter” Fulton is openly wondering what else he has to do. The former WBO and WBC junior featherweight titleholder feels he deserves to be on the pay-per-view portion of this Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga undercard from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The frustration caused Fulton to be unusually short with the media. It affected a winning, jovial personality and made him a little grumpy.

Perhaps that’s exactly what Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) needs when he takes on Carlos Castro (30-2, 14 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout on the preliminary, pre-PPV portion of the Alvarez- Berlanga card pack. . It will be Fulton’s first fight in 14 months since his first pro loss, an eighth-round knockout to junior featherweight world champion Naoya Inoue last July 25 in Tokyo.

“You know I’m mad, mad at myself for not being more prepared, not being the best version of me in the Inoue fight,” Fulton admitted in July when speaking to The Ring at a club show in Philly have. “I’m not saying I would have beaten Inoue or he would have beaten me, but the best version of me was better than how I performed. This is what pisses me off. I had to look at myself. I learned a lot about myself, things I need to sharpen up about myself professionally and personally. I don’t want to dwell too much on the past. But I’m different.

“Expect me to look different.”

Inoue may be the only fighter in the world who can beat Fulton between 122 and 126.

But Fulton doesn’t want to hear it.

He switched from trainer/manager Wahid Rahim to trainer Bozy Ennis, the father, manager and trainer of his son, IBF welterweight titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis, although Rahim was still Fulton’s manager. Fulton stressed a change must be made. Both believe it was in the best interest of each of them.

Being off the PPV, the Castro fight gives Fulton the opportunity to be seen by possibly the largest TV audience he has ever fought before.

“From a business perspective, Scooter is in a great position right now,” Rahim said. “He is one fight away from fighting for another world title. He does have a chance to fight in front of a large audience. It is a mental test for him. Scooter is a former world champion, recognized by boxing fans around the world. He was in the starting five, and for him, now that he’s off the pay-per-view, it’s like he has to come off the bench again. People need to understand something: This child was not handed anything. Al Haymon and PBC have been very good to him, don’t get me wrong.

“But Scooter had to earn his way to the top. Personally, I don’t feel he comes off the bench. It’s just a matter of him proving himself again. I respect Bozy 100 percent. I didn’t want Scooter to take the Inoue fight because Scooter was the champion, and the champion doesn’t have to travel to defend his title. But Scooter is a special fighter. He is willing for anyone anywhere, so he went. We agreed the training thing wasn’t working with us. We were friends before we worked together, and I love him. We will always be friends. I still handle his business. With Bozy on board, it’s actually an advantage for our whole team. It took time off my plate as his trainer and gives me more time to work on his business and his future.”

But why has Fulton been so angry recently?

Anyone who knows Fulton also knows that’s not really his personality. He was short with media (who don’t know him), he gave short answers to questions and projected an attitude that he did want to be bothered. In other words, the opposite of Fulton’s upbeat personality.

“I understand that, and we know, that’s not who he is,” Rahim said of Fulton. “The reality is, which he’s very right about, he’s put so much work into being a star, he feels like he’s starting from square one again. The business side of it is that this fight will give him more exposure. I know he’s still hurting a lot from the Inoue loss. I know it, you know it, everyone who knows him knows it. He knows he could have done better, much better than he did. It pisses him off. It pisses me off.

“We hope this is the first of two fights this year. We want to fight again in December. I will say this, Carlos Castro better watch his ass. Scooter needed that kick in the ass that Inoue gave him. He has so much talent, so much ability that sometimes Scooter doesn’t see it himself. It will come out against Castro. I will not look through Castro. I know Scooter won’t. I do know he is ready to explode.”

The big plan for Fulton is to beat Castro, who is on a three-fight winning streak since a July 2022 stoppage loss to Brandon Figueroa, to WBA featherweight title winner Nick Ball’s Oct. 5 defense against Ronny Facing Rios in Liverpool. England.

“When Scooter is at his best, focused, ready, nobody, not even Inoue, could beat him,” Rahim emphasized. “I’m not just seriously thinking about it; I know this for a fact. The only one who could Stephen Fulton is Stephen Fulton. I tell him that all the time.”