Stephen Fulton feels he’s better than Daniel Roman inside the ring and out

Stephen Fulton puts his WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles on the line against Daniel Roman on Saturday, June 4. He feels he’s simply better.

On Showtime, Stephen Fulton enters his second title defense against former WBA and IBF champion Daniel Roman on Saturday, June 4. Fulton puts his WBC and WBO boxing titles on the line but seems pretty confident heading into battle.

Several weeks ago, in statements released to the media (h/t Boxingscene.com), Roman acknowledged that he didn’t give Fulton a shot when he was champion but is grateful Fulton isn’t doing the same.

In a close split decision, Roman (29-3-1, 10 KOs) lost his titles to Murodjon Akhmadaliev in 2019. Since then, Fulton collected two belts after besting Angelo Leo and Brandon Figueroa in back-to-back contests.

Today, the shoe is on the other foot. So why did Fulton give Roman a title shot when Roman overlooked him in the past?

“Because I’m better than him,” Fulton told FanSided. “I’m better than him, and I’m gonna show him that I’m better than them in the ring. Not just outside of the ring but inside the ring as well. I’m better than him overall.”

Fulton (20-0, 8 KOs) sees offering Roman a fight as him being the bigger man. In terms of moral victories, he feels like he’s already 1-0 against Roman. He’s convinced that he will match that record on a physical plane once they fight.

Super bantamweights Stephen Fulton and Daniel Roman meet at The Armory in Minneapolis, MN, on Saturday, June 4. Watch it on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET

So far, Fulton has met and exceeded every challenge. In November, he was in a brutal 12-round war with Figueroa but did enough to earn the unanimous decision victory. At the time, many felt like the fight was close, including Fulton.

Some believed that Figueroa won the fight, but when Fulton sat down and watched the fight film for the first time, he thought the scoring should have been wider.

“I said, oh, this, man, I won a lot more rounds than I thought I did,” Fulton said. “I said it was a close fight, but I won this fight. I said, oh, yeah, I definitely won this fight. I don’t know what the f**k they think they was seeing.”

Fulton believes the fans, along with Figueroa’s proclamation he was robbed added to the discussion of that contest being so close.

“A lot because I feel like it was the fans that made it like that as well,” Fulton said. “The fans kind of twist and turn the narrative along with Figueroa coming screaming the biggest robbery ever in boxing history. Like, that’s not the biggest robbery, bro. He a sore loser.”

Regardless of what Figueroa or fans thought, Fulton won and is ready to move on. Before securing a bout with Roman, Fulton stated that he tried to ensure a unification bout with IBF and WBA champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev, but he and his team were told that Akhmadaliev already had set plans.

“I wanted the undisputed, but they say he already had a fight lined up or something like that,” Fulton said. ” I don’t know. But another part of me feel like he didn’t want to fight me just so yet. But I wanted to go straight into that fight from that fight.”

Akhmadaliev meets Ronny Rios on June 25. Initially, they were supposed to fight in November, but Rios tested positive for COVID. Akhmadaliev fought Jose Velazquez instead and defeated him by unanimous decision.

If Fulton is successful against Roman, he believes a unification bout against Akhmadaliev is inevitable.

“No doubt. I feel like is going to happen now,” Fulton said. “Once we get past June 4, and he past his, that fight is going to happen.”

That’s an ideal plan for Fulton, but Roman is no stepping stone and will do all he can to disrupt Fulton’s pursuits.

Roman is a typically soft-spoken person but has been active on social media about fighting and beating Fulton. His outspokenness is uncharacteristic, which is something that Fulton noticed immediately. He believes that he brings out the excitement in his opponents.

“I feel like it’s just me,” Fulton said. “I feel like I have that. Within a whole division, I have that aura that makes everybody just want to scream and shout my name.”

Fulton is sure to bring out the best of Roman in the ring. We’ll see if he is indeed the better man.