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World Title Contender Darius Fulghum Targets Diego
Pacheco & Other Top Super Middleweights
Houston-based, world-rated super middleweight Darius “DFG”
Fulghum (15-1-1, 13 KOs) is targeting undefeated Diego
Pacheco (26-0, 13 KOs) among others to position himself as a
legitimate world title challenger for reigning World Boxing
Association (WBA) World Super Middleweight Champion Jaime
Munguia (46-2, 35 KOs).
For his last fight this past May 22nd, the 29-year-old
Fulghum shifted training camp from Houston to the
state-of-the-art Brickhouse Boxing Club in North Hollywood,
California, for multiple issues that needed attention after
his previous two disappointing performances (0-1-1).
In addition to getting elite sparring, Fulghum worked with
one of boxing’s leading young trainers, Julian Chua, who
also trains 2-division world champion Gilberto “Zurdo”
Ramirez (and WBA No. 1 ranked super flyweight John “Scrappy”
Ramirez, as well as unbeaten prospect Eric Priest (16-0-1, 8
KOs).
Fulghum’s longtime coach, Darnell Pierce, remains in Darius’
corner as head trainer and he worked many of Fulghum’s
training sessions at Brickhouse. The results were so
positive that the WBA No. 5-rated Fulghum is training again
at Brickhouse Boxing Club in advance of his next fight.
Fulghum stopped Cuban Yoanki Urrutia (17-2, 7 KOs) in the
third round.
“My focus was the most important thing that I improved,”
Fulghum explained. “Brickhouse put me in an environment
where every day I’m surrounded by people who force me to
level up. Physically I’ve always had the tools. The
difference now is I’m mentally locked in, and that’s what
people are going to see from here on out.”
Pacheco’s last fight was on July 18 in Carson, California,
in which he knocked out Immanuwel Aleem (22-4-3, 14 KOs) in
round eleven. Pacheco is ranked in all 4 major sanctioning
bodies – WBO #3, WBC #4, WBA #6 and IBF #13 – as well as No.
6 by Ring Magazine.
“I have a lot of respect for Diego,” Fulghum said. “I was
offered that fight but they decided to go with Aleem as
their opponent instead. I was disappointed that I didn’t get
that fight, because I believe I would’ve exposed a lot of
things. Again, I think he is a talented fighter, but I know
what I’ve done, and I don’t think he’s ever been in the ring
with anybody like me. He’s fought a lot of good guys, but
none with my style. If we fight, people are going to see the
difference. This will be an entertaining fight with lots of
action and my hometown of Houston will show up and show out
for this one.
“Diego has a good jab and he’s well rounded. But his team
has matched him smartly because most of the guys he’s fought
play right into his strengths. I’m not one of those guys.
I’d like to fight Diego next. It would be a great fight and
position me for a world title shot. There are other ‘name’
super middleweights like (WBA No. 1) Bek (Bektemir
Melikuziev) but he may be fighting Munguia next. I’d fight
(WBA No. 3, Jose Armando) Resendiz and (WBA No. 4, Jermall)
Charlo. ‘DFG’ is ready for the test!”
Fulghum was a decorated amateur boxer who was ranked No. 1
in the USA as a heavyweight, but as a professional he’s
fought strictly as a super middleweight. He was the 2018
National Golden Gloves Tournament Champion, and he also won
the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He earned a nursing
degree from Prairie View A & M University during COVID-19.
Fulghum is working with 3 Point Management (3 PM), which has
a growing stable of gifted boxers former including WBA & WBO
Cruiserweight and WBO Super Middleweight World Champion
Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-248-2, 30 KOs), WBA No. 1-rated
world super flyweight title contender John “Scrappy” Ramirez
(17-1, 9 KOs), former WBC Light Heavyweight World Champion
Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (21-3, 17 KOs), former WBA
Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Champion, Canadian
Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (13-1, 7 KOs), Armenian
featherweight Azat “Crazy A” Hovhannisyan (23-6, 17 KOs),
and German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (7-0, 3
KOs).
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