Diego Pacheco will defend his place near the front of the super middleweight title queue against Darius Fulghum on November 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Fulghum gets the opportunity to improve his position by beating an undefeated contender in his backyard.
The Saturday card headlines TNT Sports and DAZN’s monthly series, “The Fight,” airing in the United States on TNT, truTV and DAZN, with DAZN broadcasting worldwide.
Pacheco (26-0, 19 KOs) brings the stronger rankings into the contest. According to the announcement, he is No. 2 with the WBO, No. 3 with the WBC and No. 6 with the WBA. Fulghum (15-1-1, 13 KOs) is fifth with the WBO, giving him an obvious reason to accept the road fight.
“Darius Fulghum is a talented and hungry fighter, and I respect what he brings to the ring,” Pacheco said in the fight announcement. “I know he sees this as his opportunity, but I see it as another step toward becoming a world champion. I’m preparing for the best version of him, and on fight night, I’m going to remind everyone why I’m one of the top fighters in the division.”
For Pacheco, the task is to turn those rankings into a title opportunity without taking a loss along the way. He will defend his WBO International and WBC Silver belts, but neither gives the winner a guaranteed world championship fight.
His partnership with Buddy McGirt adds another reason to watch. Pacheco stopped Immanuwel Aleem in the 11th round of their first fight together, and Fulghum now gives them another opponent against whom to develop that partnership.
Fulghum’s 13 stoppages show the punching threat, although translating that success against Pacheco is the test. He must make the hometown favorite uncomfortable while avoiding the shots that have produced Pacheco’s previous stoppage wins at this venue.
Tickets enter presale October 5 at 10 a.m. PT, followed by general sale October 6 at the same time. The undercard has yet to be announced.