Honoring Philadelphia's Stephen Fulton, Jr. and Wishing him Luck in his Upcoming Match Against Naoya Inoue on May 7th in Yokohama, Japan.

WHEREAS, Stephen Fulton was born on July 17, 1994 in North Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Fulton is a proud West Philadelphia trained boxer. He worked with Hamza Muhammad out of the James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym on Brooklyn Street in West Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, Fulton began his boxing career in a match against Issac Badger on October 14th. He won the fight in the second round as the result of a technical knock-out (TKO). After his victory, he signed with Premier Boxing Champions, and began wracking up victory after victory; and

WHEREAS, Over the course of his dominating career, Fulton has fought in 21 matches, was undefeated in each appearance, and has a total of eight knock-outs. Standing at 5 foot 6 and ½ inches, Fulton has incredible speed and power. He truly embodies the spirit of Muhammad Ali’s style in the ring, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”; and

WHEREAS, Fulton is the current unified World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) Super Bantamweight Champion. He has seen massive success throughout his boxing career, and his pure skills in the ring has propelled him to new heights; and

WHEREAS, On May 7, 2023, Fulton will face Naoya Inoue in Yokohama, Japan. Inoue is one of the world’s premier boxers, and is regarded as one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in boxing today; and

WHEREAS, Fulton’s upcoming fight versus Naoya Inoue is widely regarded to be one of the greatest boxing matches in sports today. These are two of the most elite fighters in lower weight classes facing off against each other; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia is known as a great fighting town, and boxing is well respected in our City. It is fitting that Philadelphia’s own Stephen Fulton, Jr. will compete on the international stage. Fulton’s dedication to the sport of boxing is admirable and brings joy to Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Fulton’s boxing skills put him among the greats of Philadelphia’s boxing legends. Names like Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Bernard Hopkins, and Meldrick Taylor will soon be joined by Stephen Fulton, Jr; and

WHEREAS, This fight with two of the best pound-for-pound fighters both in their prime is a rare occurrence. This match will be a proper showdown of true boxing talent; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, The Council of the City of Philadelphia hereby honors Stephen Fulton, Jr. and wishes him luck in his upcoming match against Naoya Inoue on May 7th in Yokohama, Japan

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an engrossed copy of this Resolution be presented to Stephen Fulton, Jr. as a sign of the admiration and respect of this legislative body.

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