Darius Fulghum didn’t need much time to remain a knockout every time out.
The unbeaten prospect made quick work of Mexico’s Ricardo Luna, whom he stopped in the second round. A left hook floored Luna, who beat the count but was not permitted to continue as the fight ended at 1:30 of round two in their DAZN aired preliminary bout Saturday evening from Commerce Casino in Commerce, California.
Houston’s Fulghum went right to work versus the vulnerable Luna (25-11-2, 16KOs), who was forced to deal with a cut atop the right side of his scalp in the opening round. Blood dripped into his eyes as the Mexican veteran complained in between rounds of impaired vision. Fulghum exploited the matter as he loaded up on power shots with confidence that the fight wouldn’t go very deep.
Luna was clearly on borrowed time as his corner let him go out for round two but placed him on a very short leash. Fulghum went right back to work and produced the bout’s lone knockdown with a compact left hook along the ropes. Luna took a knee and the mandatory eight count at which point his corner already signaled to the referee and the ringside inspector that their charge was done for the night.
The multi-talented Fulghum (7-0, 7KOs) is also a licensed nurse. The former amateur standout earned his degree from Prairie View A&M University in 2019, one year after he won the National Golden Gloves in the 201-pound division.
Fulghum picked up his fourth win of 2023, a remarkable stretch which only began with a second-round knockout on April 29 in Arlington, Texas. He then scored knockout victories on June 3 in Galveston and July 8 in San Antonio before venturing out of his home state this week for the first time since last August.
Headlining the show, unbeaten lightweight contender William Zepeda (28-0, 24KOs) faces former title challenger Mercito Gesta (34-3-3, 17KOs) in a scheduled 12-round bout.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox