Eight months out of the ring didn’t leave Houston’s undefeated light heavyweight prospect Darius “DFG” Fulghum (4-0, 4 KOs) rusty last month as he made a strong statement against Jay Williams (4-10) at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
The 26-year-old Fulghum, who is a promotional free agent, fought on the William Zepeda-headlined card streamed live on DAZN.
Fulghum hadn’t fought since last August 10, when he knocked out David Murray (10-3-1) in the second round in Detroit, and he didn’t know who his opponent was until late last week.
“No rust at all,” Fulghum reported. “I felt fluid in the ring, extremely free.”
Fulghum dropped Williams once in the opening round and again in the second, throwing a flurry of punches at his overmatched opponent. The end came at the 0:58 mark of round four, when Fulghum finished off Williams with a picture-perfect left hook, right hand combination.
“It felt amazing,” Fulghum said. “I saw all my supporters there during my walk out and it brought life in me. That was a great feeling. I felt alive again!
“I only gave myself a B grade because I really should have gotten him out in the first round. I loaded up on my shots to get a clear knockout. But I listened to my corner to let my hands go and the knockout will come. It was a good learning experience.”
A licensed nurse in Texas with a degree from Prairie View A & M University, Fulghum was a decorated amateur boxer, ranked No. 1 in the USA as a heavyweight, despite fighting as a light heavyweight/super middleweight as a pro, capturing top honors at the 2018 National Golden Gloves Tournament and 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, all accomplished as he attended college.
Fulgham is tentatively slated to be back in action June 3rd against an opponent to be determined in Galveston, Texas.
Fulghum is working with 3 Point Management (3 PM), a company based in Los Angeles that has a growing stable of boxers including former world super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs), NABA super flyweight champion John “Scrappy” Ramirez (11-0, 8 KOs), light heavyweight Kareem Hackett (10-0, 5 KOs), super middleweight Cem “Champ” Kilic (17-1, 11 KOs), and heavyweight Zach Spiller (3-0, 2 KOs).