Thursday notebook: Recovered from Covid-19, Fulton anxious to finally challenge Leo for title
Updates on Povetkin-Whyte rematch, Devin Haney, Kovalev undercard
When junior featherweight contender Stephen Fulton showed up at the Mohegan Sun resort in Uncasville, Connecticut, in late July, a few days before he was supposed to challenge Angelo Leo for the vacant WBO world title, he felt, in his words, terrible.
Before he left his hometown of Philadelphia to head to the fight site, Fulton took a Covid-19 test and was negative. But when he was tested again after arriving on Wednesday of fight week he soon got the news that he was positive for Covid-19 and was sent packing.
His dream of fighting for a world title was on hold and he became more ill by the day. It took him about two weeks to shake off the symptoms but he said he did not feel back to normal until late November or early December.
“It takes time to really get your breathing back,” Fulton said on Wednesday during a virtual press conference with Leo, whom he will challenge for the 122-pound world title on Jan. 23 at Mohegan Sun Arena, where Showtime (9 p.m. ET) will kick off its 2021 season of “Showtime Championship Boxing” with a tripleheader.
After Fulton tested positive, Leo (20-0, 9 KOs), 26, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, native fighting out of Las Vegas, handily outpointed late replacement Tramaine Williams, who had been on standby and ready to fight in the event of a fall out, on Aug. 9 to win the vacant title knowing he owed Fulton a mandatory shot in his first defense.
Fulton said the combination of being forced out of the fight originally scheduled date for the fight and being so ill was tough to take.
“It was depressing. I felt bad,” he said. “It was like one of my lowest moments, losing that opportunity. And I actually cried about it. I felt like that was gonna be it, and I wasn’t gonna get the opportunity again until later on down the line. And luckily, the great team that is all joining us today (on the virtual press conference video conference), you know, put together this Jan. 23rd (fight). So, just going through that experience of having the fight against Leo cancelled just changed my mindset. I felt like I lost everything. It made me train even harder. I took that rage and anxiety and used it every day in training. I'm just ready to fight.”
The 26-year-old Fulton (18-0, 8 KOs) said he is now back at full strength after recovering from the virus and ready to go for the biggest fight of his life.
“I gave myself some time because I knew that working out and running while you have it can permanently mess your lungs up,” Fulton said. “It’ll mess your breathing up. So, I took some time off of it. And I needed that time to mentally get myself back together.”
He paid respect to Leo for defeating Williams for the title.
“Leo's performance against Williams was what I expected,” Fulton said. “I knew he was going to come forward and be a dog, but I don't think Williams expected it. He's a good fighter, he earned his way here, and now we just have to fight."
Also on the card, junior featherweight Raeese Aleem (17-0, 11 KOs) will face Vic Pasillas (16-0, 9 KOs) for a vacant interim title in the co-feature and Rolando Romero (12-0, 10 KOs) will defend his interim lightweight belt for the first time against Justin Pauldo (14-1, 7 KOs) in the opener.
Hearn reveals Povetkin-Whyte II date
The rematch between WBC interim heavyweight titlist and Dillian Whyte has been rescheduled for March 6 at a United Kingdom venue to be determined, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said during an interview on DAZN’s “The Ak & Barak Show.”
Initially, the bout was slated to take place on Nov. 21 at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, but three weeks beforehand it was postponed because Povetkin tested positive for Covid-19.
When they met on Aug. 22, Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs), 41, of Russia, got knocked down twice in the fourth round and was losing badly but rallied to score a devastating one-punch fifth-round knockout of Whyte, laying him out cold with a left uppercut to win the interim belt. Whyte (27-2, 18 KOs), 32, of England, immediately exercised his contractual right to an immediate rematch.
Hearn plans to announce a series of U.K. fights and dates on Friday with Povetkin-Whyte II being one that had already been slated to happen.
“This is obviously one that people know was gonna happen, but we will be announcing the official date of Whyte-Povetkin II, which is March the 6th,” Hearn said during the interview, adding, “That’s a big fight for the heavyweight division. Of course, while we’re trying to finalize AJ (Anthony Joshua) against (Tyson) Fury, Whyte-Povetkin’s right up there. … It’s a great heavyweight fight. So, that will be lodged into the opening part of our 2021 schedule. So, big, big fight for Dillian Whyte. It’s a must-win fight, and if he wins that fight, I know he wants a shot at the WBC title.”
Quick hits
The date penciled in for the return of WBC lightweight world titlist Devin Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) is April 2 (DAZN), according to sources. It remains to be seen if Hearn, who is Haney’s promoter, and Golden Boy Promotions, which represents interim world titlist Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), will look to make that significant bout. Golden Boy officials plan to meet with Garcia next week to discuss possibilities for his next fight, according to a source with knowledge of the plans. Garcia claimed the vacant interim belt on Jan. 2 in Dallas, getting off the mat from a second-round knockdown to knock out Luke Campbell with a body shot in the seventh round of a dramatic fight.
The co-feature being planned for 178-pound catch weight fight between former three-time light heavyweight world titleholder Sergey Kovalev and up-and-comer Bektemir “Bek Bully” Melikuziev on Jan. 30 (DAZN) at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, is a middleweight bout between Jason Quigley (18-1, 14 KOs) and Shane Mosley Jr. (16-3, 9 KOs), a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. Quigley, 29, of Ireland, has won two bouts in a row since being stopped in the ninth round by Tureano Johnson in July 2019. Mosley, 30, of Pomona, California, the son of the Hall of Fame former three-division world champion Shane Mosley, has won three fights in a row since losing a decision to Brandon Adams in the 2018 finale of “The Contender” reality series.
The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association announced on Wednesday that Canelo Alvarez and Callum Smith both successfully completed their drug testing program in place for their fight. Alvarez cruised to a lopsided unanimous decision over Smith on Dec. 19 to a win pair of super middleweight world titles as well as The Ring magazine title.
Photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime