Michael Conlan Next Up For Fulton?
Stephen Fulton is the new champion as the Philadephia native won a unanimous decision win over Angelo Leo to capture the WBO Jr, Featherweight title last Saturday.
One of the names mentioned next up for him maybe the mandatory challenger in Michael Conlan.
We have written about the prospects next for Fulton, taking on Luis Nery and Brandon Figueroa, which Fulton mentioned after the fight. Jake Donovan of Boxingscene caught up with Conlan and wrote that the fighter from Belfast (14-0, 8 KOs) was interested in fighting with Fulton as soon as possible.
“It was a very good performance by Stephen Fulton, I expected him to win, but he made it wider than I thought it would be,” Conlan told BoxingScene.com. “I think very highly of Stephen Fulton. He and Angelo Leo were both ranked ahead of me once I dropped down to the [122-pound] division, so I knew I’d be fighting one of them for my first title.
“A fight with Fulton is first on my list, and I’d like to fight him as soon as possible.”
If you’ve been following Conlan on Twitter, this is what he’d pointed out over the past weekend that would happen even down to his chance to fight him.
I think Fulton, then I’ll spank him.
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) January 22, 2021
Also, a friendly reminder that Conlan read the feedback of him not wanting this fight off Twitter.
“It’s funny reading the comments on Twitter. The fans already decided that I want no part of these guys,” laughed Conlan to Boxingscene. “I knew the top fighters at this weight when I made the decision to move down here. I knew that Fulton and Leo were ahead of me (for the WBO title) and that I’d be fighting the winner for my first title shot.
Conlan was slated to be in action at the annual St. Patrick’s Day fight at Madison Square Garden before the start of the pandemic closed that door. He ended up fighting behind closed door’s back in August, stopping Sofiane Takoucht in ten rounds. An injury to his left anterior talo-fibular ligament stopped the former Olympian from a possible fight in December. That injury s fully recovered and is currently training to begin action back in March or April.
“I am in a position where the WBO title is well within reach for me, and I’d like to fight Stephen Fulton as soon as possible. I know that he just fought, he just won the title, and I am due to come back soon. After that, I believe we can fight this summer,” Conlan stated.
In the meantime, the next matchup that was slated for Conlan that was originally talked about was former champion Issac Dogboe but was last seen fighting at 126 lb. and wasn’t interested in moving back down to Jr. Featherweight.
When either that fight happens next remains to be seen, but at the end of the day, Conlan-Fulton looks like it’s on a collision course to take place sooner rather than later.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
