Fulghum Outpoints Pacheco in Carson, Hands Him First Loss

Update, Nov. 15: Post-fight, DAZN posted that Pacheco called for a rematch. In DAZN's write-up of the interviews, Pacheco credited Fulghum for the performance and said he did not feel like himself Saturday night.

DAZN also reported that promoter Eddie Hearn told Chris Mannix they will trigger the rematch clause, after Pacheco looked “flat” and “weak.” Those comments come from DAZN, the broadcaster of the show. Bad Left Hook also reported that Hearn confirmed a rematch clause, but said it remains to be seen whether that is the path Pacheco will pursue. No rematch date has been announced.

In the same DAZN article, Fulghum said he would welcome a shot at WBC super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez or WBA titleholder Jaime Munguia, and that he would love to fight Jermall Charlo for the “king of Houston” throne. DAZN also posted that Fulghum handed the belts back to Pacheco.

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FIGHTMAG and Max Boxing both now list Fulghum at 16-1-1 with 13 knockouts. Pacheco is 26-1 with 19 knockouts, the same mark BoxRec already had.

On the WBA queue: Rafael wrote in his Nov. 14 notebook that Melikuziev remains the current mandatory, with the Carson winner next in line behind him for a shot at Munguia. The WBA's Nov. 12 release called the Carson fight an official super middleweight title eliminator, and a Sept. 21 WBA order named Melikuziev the official mandatory challenger for Munguia's title. Separately, Boxing News 24, citing a Saturday report from ESPN's Salvador Rodríguez, said Munguia's camp and Melikuziev have a 30-day window to reach terms before the WBA would order a purse bid, with a 60-40 split in Munguia's favor.

Darius Fulghum outpointed Diego Pacheco by unanimous decision on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, handing the Los Angeles fighter the first defeat of his career and taking the WBC Silver and WBO International super middleweight titles Pacheco had been defending. The card was live on DAZN and TNT.

The official scores, posted by Matchroom Boxing and independently by Dan Rafael, were 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. DAZN posted the Fulghum win as well, without the cards.

The Ring called the 12-rounder a WBA 168-pound final eliminator. That tracks with the WBA's Nov. 12 designation, which we covered at the weigh-in: an eliminator, not a fight for the full world title. Rafael, writing on his own, added that Fulghum now becomes the mandatory challenger for the winner of titlist Jaime Munguia's required defense against Bektemir Melikuziev.

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Pacheco came in 26-0 with 19 knockouts. BoxRec has him at 26-1 after Saturday. Fulghum, out of Houston, came in 15-1-1 with 13 knockouts. An updated Fulghum record was not posted on BoxRec or another outlet at the time of writing, so it is not listed here.

It was close on the official cards, and not without a wrinkle. According to BoxRec and Bad Left Hook's live blog, Fulghum was deducted a point in the ninth round for a punch behind the head. The closest official card was still 114-113 for Fulghum.

Neither Matchroom, DAZN, The Ring nor Rafael had posted a post-fight quote from either fighter when this was written.

Pacheco was making his second straight appearance at the venue after stopping Immanuwel Aleem here in July. Fulghum had lost a May 2025 WBA eliminator to Melikuziev, drawn with David Stevens, then stopped Yoanki Urrutia in May. This is the result he came to California for.

Both men made weight Friday, Pacheco at 168 and Fulghum at 167.7, as we reported. The disclosed contract purses, reported earlier from California commission filings cited by Rafael, are in our pre-fight item.

The co-feature and the rest of the undercard, including Anthony Olascuaga's sixth defense of his WBO flyweight title, are in our earlier results report. We also covered Olascuaga's homecoming when it was announced, and the first fight-week face-offs.

The Kimster's Take

Fulghum walked into Pacheco's backyard and left with the belts and, if Rafael has it right, a seat at the next WBA table. The cards were close, and a point off Fulghum in the ninth did not change the winner. Pacheco's first loss does not end anything, but it does end the unbeaten line everyone was selling. When the next 168-pound fight is booked, you can log a pick in Fight Picker.