Darius Fulghum Ended Diego Pacheco’s 26-0 Start: What It Means for the Super Middleweights
Diego Pacheco spent years as the next big thing at 168 pounds. On Saturday night in Carson, California, a 30-year-old registered nurse took that away from him over 12 rounds.
Darius Fulghum beat Pacheco by unanimous decision at Dignity Health Sports Park, winning 115-112 on two cards and 114-113 on the third. Pacheco walked in at 26-0 with 19 knockouts. He walked out 26-1 and without the aura that came with the zero.
How Fulghum Did It
Pacheco had a six-inch reach advantage and did almost nothing with it. Fulghum closed the distance with foot feints and level changes, out-jabbed the taller man, then mauled him on the inside once he got there. His jab opened a cut under Pacheco’s right eye in the third round.
Referee Ray Corona took a point from Fulghum in the ninth for punches to the back of the head, which is the only thing that kept the third card close. Fulghum was not impressed.
“I felt like it was unfair for sure, because I was like, what do you want me to do?” he said. On the scorecards: “I thought they should have been wider for sure.”
He is right about that. This was not a close fight to watch.
Nobody Gave Him a Chance
Fulghum is 16-1-1 with 13 knockouts now, and his recent record explains why nobody picked him. He lost to Bektemir Melikuziev and drew with David Stevens in 2025, then came back in May with a third-round knockout of Yoanki Urrutia. Before this fight he told World Boxing News, “When I beat Pacheco I still won’t get credit.”
Afterward he explained the turnaround in plain terms.
“This exact time last year, I had a bad performance and people wrote me completely off,” he said. “In life, sometimes you don’t get second chances.” He put the difference down to one thing: “I think the biggest difference was my mentality.”
He picked up the WBC Silver and WBO International super middleweight belts. Those are not world titles, but they are the kind of hardware that makes promoters return your calls.
Eddie Hearn Is Not Pretending
Pacheco’s promoter did not spin this one.
“Diego didn’t look like himself,” Eddie Hearn said. “He looked flat, weak, unraveled very quickly. That’s down to him and Buddy McGirt but for me, that wasn’t Diego Pacheco that we saw in there.”
Hearn confirmed the contract carries a rematch clause and said he intends to use it. “We’ll run it back in 2027,” he said, with a warning attached: “But if you lose in the rematch, then you’re in trouble.”
Pacheco, who is 25, wants it. “It wasn’t my night tonight,” he said. “He was crafty. He did what he had to do. I definitely would love to run it back.”
What This Actually Changes
Pacheco had been discussed as a future opponent for Canelo Alvarez, the WBC super middleweight champion. No such fight was ever signed or announced, and after Saturday it is harder to picture anyone selling it.
Fulghum is the one listing names now. “That puts me in with the likes of Canelo, Munguia, get my rematch with Bek,” he said. He also floated fighting Jermall Charlo in Houston, where he came up. “The division is wide open, I’m down to fight anyone, just want to be a world champion.”
He is correct that it is open. Whether a 30-year-old with a loss and a draw on his ledger gets a title shot ahead of a 25-year-old prospect with one loss and a powerful promoter is a separate question, and boxing usually answers that one the wrong way.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
