Stephen Fulton defeats Angelo Leo by UD in a war to become WBO champion

Stephen Fulton and Angelo Leo let their hands go in non-stop action, but Fulton pulled ahead and became the new WBO junior featherweight champion. 

Angelo Leo vs. Stephen Fulton looked like it would in an entertaining boxing bout on paper, and it exceeded expectations.

Fulton’s positive COVID-19 test kept him from meeting Leo in August for the WBO junior featherweight title, but good things come to those who wait.

Leo (20-1, 9 KOs) impressed in August by defeating Tramaine Williams to win the WBO belt, but he knew that he would have to fight Fulton next. He told FanSided shortly before his Jan. 23 showdown with Fulton that he felt he discovered Fulton’s tendencies and weaknesses. It’s one thing to see a flaw and another to exploit it in the ring.

Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) also felt confident going into his fight with Leo. Confident might be an understatement. Fulton felt like it was his fate to become the new champion, and he stayed true to his word.

Fulton vs. Leo featured two boxers who were in prime shape and truly believed in their abilities. They put on a show live from Mohegan Sun Arena for all those watching Showtime. Anyone who saw it wasn’t disappointed in the matchup. It’s hard to ask two fighters to do more in the ring than Fulton and Leo.

In the first two rounds, Fulton’s hand speed and quick jab caused problems for Leo. It didn’t help that a cut opened up early over Leo’s left eye after a clash of heads in round 1. Fulton looked like he would box Leo for the rest of the night, but Leo made Fulton change his gameplan.

In round 4, Leo caught Fulton with a left hook to the body that hurt Fulton. He froze up and briefly stopped his flowing hands. Leo upped his work rate and got himself back into the fight.

Stephen Fulton and Angelo Leo fight was better than anyone realizes

From round 5 on, Fulton abandoned any plans of boxing on the outside. He put his head down and went straight at Leo while throwing an endless stream of punches. Fulton concentrated on Leo’s body, and the accumulation of punishment wore Leo down as the fight carried on.

Little by little, Leo seemed to tire, and his stamina started to deteriorate. Fulton, on the other hand, continued to let his hands go. Leo never gave up and tried his best to turn Fulton’s building tide, but he failed. Fulton was too fast, strong, and well-conditioned.

After the final bell ended round 12, it was clear that Fulton defeated Leo. The judges all scored Fulton as the winner making him the new WBO junior featherweight champion.

After the fight during the press conference, FanSided revealed to Fulton that according to ShowStats, he threw 1,183 total punches throughout the fight. He was stunned by that figure.

“I didn’t even know I threw that many punches,” laughed Fulton. “It’s probably the first fight I did that. Damn, I swear to God I didn’t know I threw that many punches.”

Fulton is only 26 years old and a world champion. He wants to have a unification bout next, but some of the other titleholders might be a little weary of Fulton based on his exquisite performance against Leo.