ANAHEIM, California – Those rousing sparring sessions that so effectively sharpened David Morrell Jnr for his entertaining battle with David Benavidez also brightly polished super middleweight Darius Fulghum.
Houston’s Fulghum improved to 14-0 Saturday night in the co-main event to the Oscar Duarte-Miguel Madueno main attraction by unleashing an onslaught of power right hands that led to a fourth-round technical knockout victory over Detroit’s Winfred Harris Jnr.
An unanswered battering in the fourth convinced referee Ray Corona to stop the bout 2 minutes, 18 seconds into the round.
Fulghum previously knocked down Harris, 22-3-2, in the second round by landing a vicious right hand to the jaw followed by a flush left hand that sent Harris to the canvas.
Ranked fifth by the WBA, Fulghum spent time preparing by sparring with Cuba’s Morrell, who scored an 11th-round knockdown of the unbeaten Benavidez before falling by scores of 118-108, 115-111, 115-111 on February 1 in Las Vegas.
The sessions were hellish, according to those who witnessed them, and Fulghum provided a colorful glimpse of what transpired Saturday night by roughing up Harris from the opening bell.
The damage was so ongoing and extensive that a ringside doctor inspected Harris before the fourth round, and as the rough treatment continued, Corona rushed in to say he had seen enough.
Earlier on the DAZN-streamed portion of the undercard, flyweight Ricardo Sandoval, 26-2, sought to enhance his lofty knockout percentage and improve his position at a title shot and instead settled for three wide scorecards, dropping Indianapolis’ Saleto Henderson to 10-2 with a unanimous decision victory, 98-92, 100-90, 100-90.
Sandoval, of Rialto, California, is ranked fourth or better by all four sanctioning bodies, and his triumph Saturday gives him the WBC silver belt.
Sandoval typically operates by fatiguing his opponents, but while his sixth-round pressure on Henderson impressed the judges, it didn’t tire the Midwestern product, who was done in more by the disparity in activity and skill.
Chicago’s Kenneth Sims Jnr engaged in an entertaining welterweight scrap he won convincingly by scores of 98-92, 99-91, 99-91 over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda.
Sims, 22-2-1, credited his jab for the victory and displayed an effective right that calmed Castaneda’s interest in extended toe-to-toe action. Castaneda, 21-8, increased the action after some early jeering from the crowd.
With the victory, Sims will head back to junior welterweight.
Sims withdrew from a November “Latino Night” 140lbs bout with Saturday main event fighter Oscar Duarte, citing discomfort from bursitis in both knees.
That prompted Duarte to accuse Sims of ducking him on social media and face-to-face at Thursday’s news conference, making things chippy, with Sims pitching to fight Duarte were both to win.
Promising welterweight Joel Iriarte, 6-0 (6 KOs), continued making short work of his opposition with a second-round knockout of Darel Harris, 19-24-2, in the DAZN broadcast opener.
Iriarte scored a first-round knockdown of Harris seconds after the 5ft 6in Harris stuck his tongue out at the 6ft 1in prospect from Bakersfield, California.
Iriarte said he knew the outing would be brief after connecting “on my first jab. … I caught him and saw his balance [weaken] and thought, ‘It’s going to be a short night.’”
The 21-year-old Iriarte was hoping for a longer session from the veteran, who has compiled 179 rounds in 45 fights.
Iriarte said he’s hopeful to graduate to an eight-rounder next time out.
Instead, he pursued his shorter prey with vigor and found him with a left-handed uppercut, forcing the referee to wave the fight over just 1 minute, 21 seconds into the second.
“I’m looking to get back soon within these next two months,” Iriarte said.
Iriarte has needed just a combined 18 minutes, 42 seconds to finish off his pro opponents.
“The confidence comes with the God-gifted power. … Just looking forward to coming back and getting a few more rounds,” he said.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
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