LAS VEGAS — High stakes are on the line this Friday night as undefeated Darius “DFG” Fulghum (14-0, 12 KOs) takes on Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) in a crucial WBA super middleweight title eliminator at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
“There is going to be separation in the super middleweight division,” Fulghum said. “(WBA Interim Champion Caleb) Plant fights the day after my fight in Las Vegas, but ‘Canelo’ (Alvarez) holds all the cards.”
The big question now is how long Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (69-22, 39 KOs), the undisputed super middleweight champion, will continue to reign over the 168-pound division. The boxing icon, who debuted professionally in 2005, now only competes twice a year—on Cinco de Mayo weekend and Mexican Independence Day in September.
Recently, Alvarez dominated William Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round unanimous decision on May 4, marking the beginning of a four-fight agreement with Riyadh Season. Up next is a highly anticipated showdown against Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) scheduled for September 12 in Las Vegas. Should Alvarez fulfill his full Riyadh contract, he’ll have just two required bouts remaining in 2025.
Regardless of Alvarez’s next move, the winner of Fulghum vs. Melikuziev will be in prime position for a title shot and may become the WBA’s mandatory challenger. Currently, only three fighters rank above Melikuziev (No. 3) and Fulghum (No. 4) in the WBA rankings: No. 1 Christian Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs), No. 2 Lester Martinez (19-0, 18 KOs), and interim champion Caleb Plant (23-2, 14 KOs).
Plant is scheduled to face WBA No. 15 Jose Armando Resendiz (15-2, 11 KOs) the day after Fulghum and Melikuziev collide, sharing a card with Jermall Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) vs. Thomas LaManna (39-5-1, 18 KOs). If both Plant and Charlo win, a future clash between the two appears likely.
Meanwhile, Mbilli is expected to be removed from the WBA rankings when he takes on WBC Interim Super Middleweight Champion Maciej Sulecki (33-3, 13 KOs) on June 27 in Quebec City for the vacant WBC title.
“This eliminator sets-up everything for me and I’m all business,” Fulghum emphasized. “I won’t make it anything more than it is because each fight I’ve had was extra important; I wouldn’t be here if I had lost any of my fights. There’s no added pressure because this is an eliminator and there will be a lot more to come after this Friday night.”
The 28-year-old Fulghum, based in Houston, acknowledges the significance of facing 2016 Olympic silver medalist Melikuziev but remains focused.
“This eliminator sets-up everything for me and I’m all business,” he repeated. “But I won’t make it anything more than it is because each fight I’ve had were extra important; I wouldn’t be here if I had lost any of my fights. There’s no added pressure because this is an eliminator because there will be a lot more to come after this Friday night.”
A standout amateur, Fulghum once ranked No. 1 in the U.S. as a heavyweight. He captured the 2018 National Golden Gloves Championship and triumphed at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials—all while earning a nursing degree from Prairie View A & M University during the pandemic.
Fulghum is represented by 3 Point Management (3 PM), which also guides the careers of elite talents such as WBA & WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), top-ranked super flyweight challenger John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs), former world champion Oleksandr “Nails” Gvozdyk (21-2, 17 KOs), ex-WBA Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs), and undefeated German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (6-0, 2 KOs).
As Friday night approaches, all eyes will be on Fulghum and Melikuziev as they battle for their shot at super middleweight glory.
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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