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<\/a>WBO Junior Featherweight World Champion Angelo Leo and unbeaten rising star Stephen \u201cCool Boy\u201d Fulton Jr. previewed their long-awaited championship showdown during a virtual press conference Wednesday as they prepare to battle live on SHOWTIME Saturday, January 23 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.<\/p>\nThe first SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING\u00ae telecast of 2021 begins at 9 p.m. ET\/6 p.m. PT and features a co-main event pitting two more undefeated 122-pound boxers against each other as Ra\u2019eese Aleem and Victor Pasillas face off in a 12-round bout for the interim WBA title. In the telecast opener, rising prospect Rolando Romero squares off against Justin Pauldo in a 12-round lightweight bout for Romero\u2019s interim WBA title. The combined ring record of the six fighters on the card is a remarkable 96 wins with just one loss. <\/p>\n
The event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and TGB Promotions.<\/p>\n
Leo and Fulton were originally scheduled to meet on SHOWTIME for the vacant title in August, before Fulton received a positive COVID-19 test. Leo went on to defeat Tramaine Williams by unanimous decision to capture the title and will now make his first defense against the unbeaten Fulton.<\/p>\n
Here is what the press conference participants had to say Wednesday:<\/p>\n
ANGELO LEO<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThis is going to be a great fight. I know Fulton is coming to fight and I\u2019m coming to fight too. We have two contrasting styles. I see it sort of as an East Coast vs. West Coast thing, so it\u2019s going to be fireworks. This is going to be one of the best fights of the year and I can\u2019t wait for you all to see it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not surprised at all that Vegas has Fulton as the slight favorite. I know that he has a lot of supporters. I\u2019ve been an underdog before. I\u2019ve been in these shoes before, so it\u2019s no surprise to me. It just gives me more fuel for the fire. I\u2019m not at all offended that he\u2019s the favorite. This is boxing and Fulton is a good fighter, but I\u2019m looking to prove on January 23 that I\u2019m where I belong and that I\u2019m world champion for a reason.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m known for throwing a lot of body punches and for my pressure. That\u2019s no secret. I feel like people haven\u2019t seen all of me yet. I have a lot to prove. I still have a lot of looks to show and come January 23, I think Stephen Fulton will bring that all out of me. I think it\u2019s important, in every fight, to go to the body. Like they say, go to the body and the head will fall, but if he wants to move around and put pressure, I have a remedy for all that.<\/p>\n \u201cFloyd [Mayweather] has been in my ear, solidifying the game plan with me. He\u2019s been telling me exactly what I need to do to win this fight. I saw him quickly on Monday. It was brief but he just stopped in to say hello and see how I was doing.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing champion is something that I always wanted to be so now that I have the belt, I have the confidence I need. But I don\u2019t take my foot off the gas just because I\u2019m champion. They say that once you\u2019re champion, it\u2019s actually harder. As bad as you want it, now everybody else wants it just as bad as you do. My mentality is the same now that I\u2019m world champion and I\u2019m gunning for more world championships. I\u2019m not the hunted. I\u2019m still hunting.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to show Stephen that it\u2019s different when you get in the ring. There\u2019s a lot more factors that play out. Not just pressure. Not just body work. There are a lot of things I have up my sleeve that a lot of people haven\u2019t seen yet and I\u2019m going to showcase all my skills on January 23.<\/p>\n \u201cJohnny Tapia is the pride and joy of Albuquerque. He\u2019s one of the greatest fighters from that city and to be mentioned with his name is an honor. Johnny Tapia was a good person, very charismatic and he showed everybody love.<\/p>\n \u201cThis fight is great for boxing. You have two undefeated fighters, both in their prime – what more do you want from two fighters in this boxing era? This is the marquee fight right here. This is the fight fans want to see.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this performance I want to let everybody know that I\u2019m here to stay. I think a lot of people are doubting me just because I fought Tramaine Williams and they say he just had three days\u2019 notice. But he was getting ready for a fight as well. I have a lot of doubters that I want to prove wrong and in this fight, I think I\u2019ll have the opportunity to.\u201d<\/p>\n STEPHEN FULTON<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cJanuary 23 is going to be fireworks. Leo is the champion and has that spark and fire. We\u2019re both coming hungry and prepared to make this a great fight. This fight is actually a bit underrated because we\u2019re smaller guys, but we\u2019re both in the top five of this division. Leo and I both have something to prove and I\u2019m ready to get it on.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think the layoff will affect me at all. I think it makes me even more ready. I can\u2019t wait to get in the ring and get back to doing what I love.<\/p>\n \u201cMy game plan remains the same as if I was fighting him in August. We\u2019re always ready to make adjustments, but I believe I\u2019m much better than if I had fought in August. From losing that opportunity and now coming back, it\u2019s made me better physically, mentally and emotionally.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing through the 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\u2019m just ready to fight.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, it means everything to be a world champion from Philadelphia. This is what I\u2019ve been working for my whole career. To my city, it would show people from my neighborhood that there\u2019s a way out. But I don\u2019t feel any pressure because of it. This sport teaches us the discipline to perform in moments like this. The pressure is just a part of my job.<\/p>\n \u201cMy streak of taking fighters\u2019 \u20180\u2019 is going to continue on January 23. Fighters have their thing that they\u2019re known for: Gervonta Davis knocks people out, Chris Colbert shows off his flashy skills, and I take fighters\u2019 \u20180\u2019s. Come fight night, we\u2019ll both be prepared and ready. I\u2019m ready to put on a show and I believe Leo will be ready to do the same.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m one of the guys leading the new era of Philadelphia boxing, but I can\u2019t get ahead of myself. I just have to stay smart, calm and do my job. It\u2019s all about doing what I came there to do.<\/p>\n \u201cI am that next wave and I\u2019m just ready to stamp it by getting this belt. I\u2019m going to solidify what everyone already knew about me. I have the superstar quality in me and I\u2019ll show it in this fight.<\/p>\n \u201cLeo\u2019s performance against Williams was what I expected. I knew he was going to come forward and be a dog, but I don\u2019t think Williams expected it. He\u2019s a good fighter, he earned his way here, and now we just have to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n LEONARD ELLERBE, CEO of Mayweather Promotions<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIn this main event we have a highly anticipated fight that the fans have been waiting for since it was first announced. This is a meaningful fight for the 122-pound division. This is one of the hottest divisions in boxing, with a number of fighters that you can mix and match to make numerous great matchups.<\/p>\n \u201cAngelo Leo is coming off a tremendous victory to win this title against Tramaine Williams. That was his coming out party. He was really impressive and made a big statement. When it comes to Fulton, you know he doesn\u2019t lack confidence. He\u2019s young, undefeated, talented and he feels like this will be his easiest payday to date. He believes he\u2019s going to walk through Leo.<\/p>\n \u201cThis main event has two young undefeated fighters facing each other in their primes. That\u2019s what makes a great fight. It\u2019s also interesting that Fulton is actually a slight betting favorite, despite Leo being the champion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe open the telecast with Mayweather Promotions\u2019 own Rolando Romero. \u2018Rolly\u2019 is coming off a less than impressive performance when he won the interim title, so he\u2019ll be looking to make a big statement for fans. This is going to be a great card from top to bottom and we can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n TOM BROWN, President of TGB Promotions<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou won\u2019t find many young fighters that have been against as much impressive competition as Stephen Fulton has. Seven of his victories out of his 18 wins are over undefeated fighters. It\u2019s very impressive. He\u2019s coming to grab what he believes is his and what should have been his back in August.<\/p>\n \u201cThe co-feature is the fight I\u2019m really excited about with Ra\u2019eese Aleem and Victor Pasillas. This is a very important matchup with very legitimate contenders. A 50-50 fight between two undefeated prospects in the hot 122-pound division. Both fighters have made it clear that they want the elite of the division and they are willing to put it all on the line January 23 to make that happen. The winner of this fight will be in the driver\u2019s seat for any of the 122-pound champions.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the opener, they say styles make fights and Justin Pauldo has a style that could really give Rolando Romero some fits. He\u2019s got a great jab and he\u2019s in great shape and down in Houston training with Ronnie Shields. He\u2019s coming to win. Out of the six featured fights we have only one loss between them, so we are going to see some \u20180\u2019s go on January 23. We\u2019re looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [AdSense-A] WBO Junior Featherweight World Champion Angelo Leo and unbeaten rising star Stephen \u201cCool Boy\u201d Fulton Jr. previewed their long-awaited championship showdown during a virtual press conference Wednesday as they prepare to battle live on SHOWTIME Saturday, January 23 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The first SHOWTIME […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[24906],"class_list":["post-98448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-wbo-junior-featherweight-champion-angelo-leo-comments-have-boxing-world-buzzing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98448"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}