Stephen Fulton Jr. Reveals How His Mother’s Words Affected Him After His Loss to Naoya Inoue

Talking to Andre Ward on All the Smoke Fight, Fulton opened up about his interaction with his sisters right after his loss to Inoue. He revealed that while they were upset about the loss, it was a conversation that his mother had with his sisters that hurt him the most.

“They like, ‘Mommy called us.’ Right in the midst of it happening. Like I wasn’t out, the fight wasn’t over yet. But in the midst of me getting dropped the first time. She called my sisters, saying, ‘Damn, there go my house,’” he said. “That one cut me deep. I was like, damn.”

Fulton confessed that her words broke him and made him cry on multiple occasions. Moreover, he even found himself nursing hatred for his mother, but he had to remind himself that he, in fact, did not hate her. He mentioned that he always wanted to have a strong bond with his mother but could not, especially after seeing his friends and peers’ bond with their families.

“My family, all they did was argue and fight one another. My dad always used to say, ‘Why do y’all argue so much like do y’all hate one another?’ That’s how we were raised. And when that happened, that jawn took a piece out of me,” he said.

Fulton added that while he didn’t address it with his mother later, she apologized to him for her words. However, the damage was already done.

“I Want Another Belt”

With a jump in weight and the WBC featherweight title under his belt, Fulton is planning to tread new waters. Talking in the same interview, he opened up about plans to go up in weight. “I want another belt. I’m trying to go up. At 130, I’ll feel comfortable,” he said.