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Debate

Does Stephen Fulton's walkout music give him a psychological edge over his opponents?

Last year, Stephen Fulton suffered a setback. He relinquished his unified super-bantamweight title to Naoya Inoue, losing via technical KO in the eighth round. With the only loss in his boxing record, Fulton’s campaign at super-bantamweight has come to an end. In search of greener pastures, he will now start his quest at featherweight. Fulton will go up against a Mexican-born 30-year-old boxer Carlos Castro in a 10-round contest.

The fight will feature on the undercard of Canelo Álvarez’s and Edgar Berlanga‘s clash for the former unified super middleweight titles at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas on September 14. The event is packed with many other exciting bouts such as the co-main event fight between Danny Garcia and Erislandy Lara for the WBA World Middleweight belt, and Caleb Plant’s fight against Trevor McCumby for the WBA Interim World Super Middleweight title. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether Fulton can get his first win at featherweight. Or, will Carlos Castro foil his plans? Nevertheless, without further delay let’s delve into Fulton’s history of walkout songs that lifted his spirits as he made his way to the squared circle.

Ode to Japanese culture for the first overseas debut

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In his first fight outside of the US, Fulton fought Naoya Inoue last year in July and walked out to Lil Uzi Vert’s Nakamura. Interestingly, it is a song that was sampled from the theme music of WWE star Shinsuke Nakamura. The American rapper then added his bars to the peppy and widely popular instrumental.

However, the music failed to deliver the inspiration Fulton needed as he was knocked down in the eighth round by Inoue. After surviving the eight count, the Japanese star smothered Fulton with his volume punches which prompted the referee to stop the fight. This was also Fulton’s first defeat in his professional career. Nevertheless, Nakamura, the Japanese wrestler, reacted to Fulton’s entrance, sharing a link to an article about ‘Cool Boy’s’ ring walkout during his fight at the Ariake Arena in Japan on X.

Moreover, there is another iconic walkout by Fulton that should be discussed.

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Does Stephen Fulton's walkout music give him a psychological edge over his opponents?

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Tribute to rappers from his hometown

During his epic fight against Brandon Figueroa at the Park Theatre in Las Vegas in November 2021, Stephen Fulton came out in a Mexican Sombrero, taking a page out of Floyd Mayweather’s playbook, taking a subtle dig at Brandon Figueroa’s Mexican heritage. Fulton was seen walking out to the groovy track ‘Ignore’ by the rap group Macc N Cheese. The hip-hop duo from Fulton’s hometown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisted of brothers Tr37macc and the late Young Cheese. They are both sons of renowned hip-hop artists from Philadelphia Gillie Da Kid.

Fortunately, playing the track from his hometown brought him a lot of luck in the fight. In the hard-fought battle, Fulton was pressed by Brandon Figueroa, not giving the former a moment to breathe. But, ‘Cool Boy’ weathered the storm and was able to figure out Figueroa, winning by majority decision. In the process, Fulton also became the unified super-bantamweight champion, snatching away the WBC belt from Figueroa, and adding it to his WBO belt which he won against Angelo Leo.

Nevertheless, Fulton’s upcoming fight won’t be an easy feat as Castro comes into the showdown on the back of three straight wins. Garcia went on a good redemption arc after losing two back-to-back fights against elite bantamweight boxers like Brandon Figueroa and Luis Nery. Moreover, Castro is the more experienced fighter, having had ten more fights, and a higher KO percentage of 46% compared to Fulton’s  38%.

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From what I’ve seen, Castro likes to box. He likes to use his length against fighters, but I think I have him beat there,Fulton said in one of his media interviews. “It’s gonna be really good to get back in the ring. I’m ready to show everyone a different Stephen Fulton Jr. on September 14.”

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Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether a return to the ring from a year-long hiatus will prove to be fruitful for Fulton in the new weight class or not. Moreover, what should be his ring walkout song as he marches into the ring against Castro? Let us know in the comment section below.

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