Stephen Fulton not only promises he’ll beat former unified junior featherweight titlist Daniel Roman this Saturday (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from The Armory, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he’s going to have a lot of fun doing it on the Premier Boxing Champions event on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing.

Fulton is so confident about this fight that “I’ll fight him bare-ass naked, no trunks, no groin protector, yep, bare-ass naked, just gloves, a mouthpiece and boots,” he said laughing hysterically.

The Philadelphia-based WBO/WBC junior featherweight titlist can be flippant like that. Fulton (20-0, 8 knockouts) is The Ring’s No. 1 contender at 122 pounds, while Roman (29-3-1, 10 KOs), the former IBF/WBA junior featherweight titlist who lost the belts by split-decision to Murodjon Akhmadaliev (“MJ”) in January 2020, is No. 3.

There are many sides to Fulton that fans don’t see or are aware of. The 27-year-old dedicated father of two sons is not only an entertaining fighter, but he also possesses an entertaining, witty personality—one of the best in boxing—that’s engaging.

Though lately, Fulton has admittedly not been his usual jovial self.

Fulton has beaten nine undefeated fighters (10 if you count a fighter making his pro debut). The last triumph for “Scooter” came in a majority-decision victory in taking the WBC junior featherweight title from Brandon Figueroa last November. It earned attention as a top candidate for BWAA 2021 Fight of the Year and Fulton’s performance placed him among the favorites as BWAA 2021 Fighter of the Year.

Still, Fulton feels that there is something missing from the boxing community. He says he’s been managed and promoted properly. The Roman fight is an opportunity he gave to the 32-year-old, who was unwilling to give Fulton that same opportunity when he held titles.

“After I beat this guy, I want MJ next, sometime in October or November, and it has to be MJ,” declared 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 (laughs). 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.

“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.”

As for Roman, Fulton has decided to train in Los Angeles. This is the second-straight time he’s trained away from his hometown Philadelphia. He trained in Las Vegas for the Figueroa fight.

“Here’s something a lot of people don’t know about that fight; I made weight the wrong way,” Fulton said. “I didn’t have the energy to box every second of every round. I made it hard on myself. It was nothing he did. I had to pace myself. I couldn’t take any rounds off; my energy level wasn’t as high as it should have been. Those were times when I slowed down and (Figueroa) hit me. That’s the only way he could hit me. It’s why I say I made that fight harder than it should have been. I dominated that guy. I beat this guy and I still don’t think I got the respect that I deserved. God bless Brandon Figueroa and his family. I hope they’re sleeping well knowing that I beat him. Maybe I’ll get a chance to beat him again at 126 pounds. I should have had more gas than the first time I beat him.

“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 (laughs).

“I’m going to force the boxing world to see more of me.”

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on twitter @JSantoliquito.

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