Stephen Fulton was at the top, and then he was not.

In November 2021, Fulton bested Brandon Figueroa via majority decision to become a unified junior featherweight champion. Fulton tried to further unify the 122-pound titles and dared to be great by facing Naoya Inoue in Japan in July 2023 but was crushed via eighth-round knockout.

He returned 14 months later at 126 pounds but looked off against Carlos Castro, getting knocked down only to recover and muster a 10-round split decision win.

Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) will now come full circle when facing Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) in a rematch on February 1. The co-main event fight will take place on the undercard of the Prime Video pay-per-view headlined by the light heavyweight matchup between David Benavidez and Morrell at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.

“Round 13 is coming soon,” said Fulton. “I’m thankful that he took the fight again and I can’t wait to get in the ring. I know how he fights. We’re familiar with each other, and when you are, you know what to expect from your opponent. I expect it to be action-packed again.

“I’m gonna get the job done on February 1 and make any adjustments I have to. I have the power to hurt him. Whoever steps foot in the ring with me going forward will see that.

“People forget who I am. I can do whatever I want in that ring. I have to remind everyone at this point. Can I knock him out? Yes, because he runs into things. There are many ways I know I can beat this guy. On February 1, I will be a two-division world champion. I’m going to make this one look more clear.”

Fulton can’t afford to look like he did against Castro, who Figueroa knocked out inside six rounds in his first fight back after suffering a first pro career defeat.

Nevertheless, Fulton, a 30-year-old from Philadelphia, is not sweating the fact that he nearly played with fire against Castro, who outlanded him 167 of 653 compared to 159 to 450 by Fulton.

“I felt cool in my last fight. Even when I got dropped, I wasn’t hurt. Being at the bigger weight class gave me the extra strength and energy that I need,” said Fulton.

“I won the fight, so I don’t really care what anyone says about my last fight. I know that I’m gonna be victorious. I’m bigger and stronger and I’ve learned a lot now. He’s gonna find out. I’m here to become world champion again. Trust me.”