BEKTEMIR MELIKUZIEV DEFEATS DARIUS FULGHUM IN WBA SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR THRILLER
In a firefight thriller that kept fans on their feet, super middleweight powerhouse Bektemir “Bek” Melikuziev (16-1, 10 KOs) of Shoimbek, Uzbekistan, defeated Darius “DFG” Fulghum (14-1, 12 KOs) in a high-stakes, 12-round WBA super middleweight title eliminator. Melikuziev sustained a cut near his left eye from a punch in the fourth round, was deducted a point for holding in the seventh, and scored a knockdown in the 12th to seal the victory. The explosive showdown headlined a special edition of Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN, live from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
“We faced a lot of adversity during this camp, so this victory means a lot more—especially with my baby on the way,” said Melikuziev. “I want to thank Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, and the Diaz Training Camp for the incredible support. I will face anyone and everyone. I’m not scared to face the likes of Caleb Plant or any of the top guys at super middleweight.” In the co-main event, undefeated WBA Continental North America Middleweight Titleholder Eric Priest (16-0, 8 KOs) defeated world title contender Luis Arias (22-5-1, 11 KOs) of Milwaukee.
The matchup went all 10 rounds, with Arias deducted one point for hitting on the break in round two and suffering a cut from a punch near his left eye in round three. Priest controlled the fight and remained composed against the veteran fighter. The judges scored the bout unanimously for Priest, with scores of 99-90, 96-93, and 99-90. Also featured on the Golden Boy Fight Night card, 2024 Olympian “Rocket” Joshua Edwards (2-0, 2 KOs), of Houston, secured a jaw-dropping first-round stoppage after sending his opponent, Alexander Rhodes (2-2, 1 KO), of West Columbia, South Carolina, to the canvas with a right overhand punch. Rhodes was unable to recover. The bout was originally scheduled as a six-round heavyweight fight.
In a separate bout, undefeated prospect Federico Pacheco Jr. (9-0, 6 KOs) went the distance in a six-round heavyweight bout against Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Calvin Barnett (5-3, 2 KOs). Barnett was deducted a point in the fourth round for excessive holding. Pacheco Jr. withstood Barnett’s tactics and won the judges’ favor with identical scores of 58-55 across the board. Opening the DAZN card, Indio’s Cayden Griffiths (5-0, 5 KOs) delivered a highlight-reel knockout victory over Yuma, Arizona’s Edgar Gutierrez (3-3, 2 KOs). Scheduled as a six-round super welterweight fight, Griffiths secured the stoppage at 1:15 of the fourth round with a powerful right hook that sent Gutierrez straight to the mat.
Coachella Valley’s Grant Flores (10-0, 8 KOs) added another knockout victory to his résumé after defeating Hastings, Nebraska’s Brandon Campos (6-1, 6 KOs). Flores’ punches cut Campos under the left eye in the second round, and he handed Campos his first career loss when the referee waived the fight off at 2:58 of the fifth round in a matchup scheduled for eight rounds of middleweight action. In a 10-round super welterweight bout, Phoenix, Arizona’s Santiago Dominguez (28-1, 21 KOs) faced John Moralde (27-6, 16 KOs) of General Santos City, Philippines. Dominguez finished the fight early with a body shot at 2:52 of the second round.
Fight night opened with an eight-round super lightweight bout featuring plenty of back-and-forth action. Denver, Colorado’s undefeated prospect Daniel “Junebug” Garcia (12-0, 9 KOs) went the distance against Camilo Rodriguez (10-4, 8 KOs) of Bogotá, Colombia. All three judges scored the bout 80-72 in favor of Garcia.
