Darius Fulghum vs. Bektemir Melikuziev: WBA Title Eliminator Headlines Las Vegas Showdown

LAS VEGAS — Excessive stakes are on the road this Friday evening as undefeated Darius “DFG” Fulghum (14-0, 12 KOs) takes on Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) in an important WBA tremendous middleweight title eliminator at Virgin Resorts Las Vegas.

“There may be going to be separation within the tremendous middleweight division,” Fulghum mentioned. “(WBA Interim Champion Caleb) Plant fights the day after my struggle in Las Vegas, however ‘Canelo’ (Alvarez) holds all of the playing cards.”

The large query now could be how lengthy Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (69-22, 39 KOs), the undisputed tremendous middleweight champion, will proceed to reign over the 168-pound division. The boxing icon, who debuted professionally in 2005, now solely competes twice a 12 months—on Cinco de Mayo weekend and Mexican Independence Day in September.

Just lately, Alvarez dominated William Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round unanimous resolution on Might 4, marking the start of a four-fight settlement with Riyadh Season. Up subsequent is a extremely anticipated showdown in opposition to Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) scheduled for September 12 in Las Vegas. Ought to Alvarez fulfill his full Riyadh contract, he’ll have simply two required bouts remaining in 2025.

No matter Alvarez’s subsequent transfer, the winner of Fulghum vs. Melikuziev shall be in prime place for a title shot and should turn into the WBA’s obligatory challenger. At the moment, solely three fighters rank above Melikuziev (No. 3) and Fulghum (No. 4) within 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 each Plant and Charlo win, a future conflict between the 2 seems seemingly.

In the meantime, Mbilli is anticipated to be faraway from the WBA rankings when he takes on WBC Interim Tremendous Middleweight Champion Maciej Sulecki (33-3, 13 KOs) on June 27 in Quebec Metropolis for the vacant WBC title.

“This eliminator sets-up every little thing for me and I’m all enterprise,” Fulghum emphasised. “I received’t make it something greater than it’s as a result of every struggle I’ve had was additional necessary; I wouldn’t be right here if I had misplaced any of my fights. There’s no added strain as a result of that is an eliminator and there shall be much more to come back after this Friday evening.”

The 28-year-old Fulghum, based mostly in Houston, acknowledges the importance of going through 2016 Olympic silver medalist Melikuziev however stays centered.

“This eliminator sets-up every little thing for me and I’m all enterprise,” he repeated. “However I received’t make it something greater than it’s as a result of every struggle I’ve had have been additional necessary; I wouldn’t be right here if I had misplaced any of my fights. There’s no added strain as a result of that is an eliminator as a result of there shall be much more to come back after this Friday evening.”

A standout newbie, Fulghum as soon as ranked No. 1 within the U.S. as a heavyweight. He captured the 2018 Nationwide Golden Gloves Championship and triumphed on the 2020 U.S. Olympic Crew Trials—all whereas incomes a nursing diploma from Prairie View A & M College in the course of the pandemic.

Fulghum is represented by 3 Level Administration (3 PM), which additionally guides the careers of elite abilities akin to WBA & WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), top-ranked tremendous flyweight challenger John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs), former world champion Oleksandr “Nails” Gvozdyk (21-2, 17 KOs), ex-WBA Inter-Continental Mild Heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs), and undefeated German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (6-0, 2 KOs).

As Friday evening approaches, all eyes shall be on Fulghum and Melikuziev as they battle for his or her shot at tremendous middleweight glory.

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Government Author, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a ardour for Fight Sports activities and in addition a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s additionally a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.