IMPRESSIVE FULTON RETAINS TITLE
 
Story by John DiSanto
Photos by Ryan Hafey / PBC & Esther Lin / Showtime
 

Stephen Fulton dominated former champion Daniel Roman to remain undefeated and retain his WBC and WBO junior featherweight titles by unanimous 12-round decision. The fight headlined an 11-bout card at the Minneapolis Armory promoted by Marshall Kauffman, Tom Brown, Leon Margules, and PBC. Heading into the bout, some believed Roman, once the IBF and WBA belt-holder, would be a stiff test for the 27-year-old Fulton. However, the champion made the bout look easy, winning every round of the fight.

Fulton controlled the action his jab, but also landed with power throughout the fight. He was far too quick for Roman and out-punched him in almost every exchange. Roman, Los Angeles, landed a few good punches, especially in round seven, but this bout was a one-sided affair. Fulton displayed a sky-high skill level in his performance and showed those watching, both at ringside and on Showtime, that he is the best 122-pound fighter in the world. An eventual showdown with Murodjon Akhmadaliev (WBA & IBF champion) should make it official.

The verdict by the judges was a near-perfect report card for Fulton. Judges Mike Fitzgerald and Patrick Morley scored the bout 120-108 (12-0 in rounds) for Fulton. Judge Nathan Palmer gave Roman one round and had the fight 119-109.

The impressive victory improved the Philadelphian's record to 21-0, with 8 KOs. Roman fell to 29-4-1, 10 KOs.

MORELL STOPS HENDERSON
One the undercard, Arkansas-based Texan, Kalvin Henderson had a tough night against David Morell. The 24-year-old Cuban had his way in the scheduled 12-round super middleweight fight, and stopped a bloody Henderson in round four. Morell raised his resume to 7-0, 6 KOs, while Henderson, a three-time visitor to Philadelphia and former Briscoe Award winner (2018 Philly Fight of the Year), fell to 15-2-1, 11 KOs.

DARGAN STOPPED IN FIRST
Philly's Karl Dargan saw his comeback stopped in his tracks against Dominican Alfredo Santiago. Dargan, so impressive in his ring return last July, failed to make it out of round one. The scheduled 10-round junior welterweight fight was on the non-televised portion of the card. Dargan, 36, slid to 20-2, 10 KOs. Santiago, who once challenged Devin Haney for the WBC title (L12), improved to 14-2, 6 KOs. Later the same evening, Haney became the undisputed lightweight champion with a resounding unanimous decision over George Kambosos in Australia (broadcast on ESPN).

John DiSanto - Minneapolis, MN (via Showtime) - June 04, 2022
 

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