Bektemir Melikuziev vs Darius Fulghum Preview May 30th, 2025
Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan takes on unbeaten Darius Fulghum of El Paso, Texas in a 12-round WBA Super Middleweight Eliminator this Friday, May 30th. The fight from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Melikuziev last boxed in November when he beat David Stevens via a 12-round split decision. Before that he beat Pierre Hubert Dibombe by an eight-round technical unanimous decision in April and in his previous bout he stopped Alantez Fox in the fourth round to retain his WBA Inter-Continental Super Middleweight Title. He won the vacant belt six months earlier with a 10-round unanimous decision over Gabriel Rosado in a rematch. Rosado won their first meeting in 2021 by a sensational third-round knockout for the vacant WBO International Super Middleweight Crown. Fulghum was last in action in February when he halted Winfred Harris Jr in the fourth round.
Melikuziev vs Fulghum Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Darius Fulghum +100
- Bektemir Melikuziev -130
My Pick
The 29-year-old Melikuziev, who now fights out of Indio, California, is a southpaw who enters the ring with an impressive record of 15-1 with 10 Ko’s with his lone loss coming to Gabriel Rosado by third-round KO in April, 2023, which he has since avenged with a 10-round unanimous decision and is now on an eight-fight winning streak. Melikuziev stands just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70.5-inch reach, made his pro debut in 2019 and has fought just 76 rounds since.
Melikuziev enjoyed a fine amateur career and made it to the final of the 2015 AIBA World Championships and to the semifinals in 2017. He also fought in the World Series of Boxing, won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil as a middleweight, won gold at the 2015 and 2017 Asian Championships as a middleweight and light-heavyweight respectively and took gold at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games as a welterweight.
There’s quite a bit of power in Melikuziev’s fists as 66.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in three of his past four fights. Since turning pro he’s also won the vacant WBO Global Super Middleweight Title and the WBO Inter-Continental Super Middleweight Title. His biggest wins have come against Stevens, Dibombe, Fox, Rosado, Ulises Sierra, Clay Collard, Vaughn Alexander, Oscar Cortes, Alan Campa, David Zegarra and Sergei Ekimov.
As for Fulghum, he’s 28 years old and enters the contest with a perfect mark of 14-0 with 12 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2021 after a fine amateur career. He’s a 2018 National Golden Gloves winner and participated at the 2020 USA Olympic Team Trials. Fulghum has a nursing degree from Prairie View A&M University and has wins over the likes of Alantez Fox, Cristian Olivas, Vaughn Alexander, and Christopher Pearson last year alone.
At 6-feet-1-inch tall with an unlisted reach, Fulghum is 3.5-inches taller than Melikuziev. He also has more power as his current knockout ratio clocks in at 85.7 per cent. The only opponents to go the distance with him were Alantez Fox, who he beat by 10-round majority decision last year and Vaugh Alexander, who also went 10 rounds with him last year in a unanimous decision victory for Fulghum. He will be taking a pit of a step up in class this weekend against Melikuziev.
Prediction…
Melikuziev is nicknamed the bully as that’s exactly what he does to his opponents in the ring but it won’t be easy against the unbeaten Fulghum. Melikuziev applies pressure, lets his hands go and is quite aggressive by always coming forward. He has a good chin even though he got nailed with a perfect KO shot by Gabriel Rosado. Fulghum has the better overall boxing skills and a good chin and has the size to handle Melikuziev’s aggressive style. He also has the power to earn some respect in the ring. Fulghum is taking a step up in class this weekend and while he has a legitimate shot at winning, I think Melikuziev’s relentlessness will prove to be a bit too much for him. This is a tossup though and no outcome should be a surprise.
Melikuziev’s natural aggression could be the difference.
Play: Melikuziev -130 @ BetOnline.ag
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Bektemir Melikuziev betting • Darius Fulghum betting