ALTHOUGH the WBC featherweight world champion Stephen Fulton has multiple options at his disposal and has been hinting at revealing some fight news shortly, a curveball could be thrown next instead.

That's according to his trainer, Derrick 'Bozy' Ennis, two-and-a-half months removed from a repeat 12-round decision win over Brandon Figueroa saw the 30-year-old (23-1, 8 KOs) become a two-weight world champion.

He told Boxing Scene that he's expecting the former unified super-bantamweight titlist to try capturing a world title in a third weight division against O'Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs), who holds the WBC belt at 130-pounds.

He was called out by WBC's No. 1 contender Bruce Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs), WBA titleholder Nick Ball (22-0-1, 13 KOs) openly welcomed a unification for a title he believes should be his, while champion in recess Rey Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs) waits in the wings to return after a year-long absence.

Earlier this month, The Ring's Keith Idec reported the WBC could order Carrington-Vargas for the 126-pound title if Fulton moves up again, though Top Rank would seek assurances it would be for the full version, rather than an interim championship.

Derrick, who also trains son Jaron Ennis and rising Cuban lightweight contender Andy Cruz out of his Philadelphia-based Next Champ Gym, suggested increased discipline has been key for Fulton's resurgence as he's also shown new wrinkles to his game.

Three months shy of two years since his first career defeat, an eighth-round knockout in Tokyo by undisputed super-bantamweight king Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs), many questions surrounding Fulton's seemingly diminished physical capabilities and motivations were posed.

Figueroa, who had won three straight - and two by stoppage - since their competitive first meeting three years earlier, was the pre-fight favourite. Fulton outboxed him and produced a far more comfortable victory second time around, though fans were underwhelmed by the infrequent action from an adversary who spoke plenty in the build-up but didn't deliver.

Foster meanwhile secured some long-awaited vindication after outpointing Robson Conceicao in their title rematch last November, five months after controversially losing the WBC strap via split decision. Ennis believes the Top Rank-backed champion is next, judging by conversations he's had with his charge.

"I think that's next - he's gonna move up, I think pretty soon. We was in the gym talking, and that's on the plate now. I think that's a good fight. That win [over Figueroa] really put him right on the map, bigger and better things are coming his way now.

"When he came to my gym, he started doing the stuff that Boots did. I told him, 'You gotta be staying round the gym, man. You winning titles, then going out and partying.' He's been coming in the gym three times a week – even though he had no fights, he’s coming. He said, 'Man, I gotta stay doing what they doing.' That's what happened, everything changed, he's followed the script that we do: work harder, stay in the gym all the time."

Ennis unified the IBF/WBA welterweight titles and won the vacant Ring Magazine crown with a sixth-round stoppage win over previously-unbeaten Eimantas Stanionis in Atlantic City last weekend, while 2020 Olympic lightweight champion Andy Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs) is set to box Japan's Hironori Mishiro (17-1-1, 6 KOs) in an IBF 135-pound title eliminator.