In front of some of the best boxers to ever step into the squared circle, Brandon Moore landed the most important win of his career.

In the main event of the card on International Boxing Hall of Fame weekend on June 6, Moore defeated Stanley Wright by unanimous technical decision after five rounds at the Turning Stone Casino & Resort in Verona, New York. With the win, Moore (18-1, 10 KOs) retained his IBF USA heavyweight title and became the first man to defeat Wright (14-1, 11 KOs).

Being the headliner of the International Boxing Hall of Fame card on the same weekend with Manny Pacquiao and Michael Nunn were inducted, the Lakeland, Florida native felt the magnitude of the event and got to live out part of his dream as he continues to ascend the heavyweight ranks.

“There was a little bit of pressure knowing the top guys are going to be there and they’re going to be judging you and seeing you fight,” Moore told The Ring. “It was surreal. It was a dream come true.”

Moore, 31, was on the cusp of landing a highlight reel knockout at the end of the second round when connected with a straight right hand, followed by a left hook and two more straight right hands that sent Wright to the canvas in a heap. Wright rose to his feet, still on wobbly legs, to beat the count of referee Mark Nelson. As the action was set to resume, the bell rang to end the round.

“My coach has been talking about letting my punches flow like rain — you can’t take any time in between them,” Moore said. The two jabs I put out there were finder jabs. I didn’t throw it hard, I put them out there and I put the right hand behind it, put the left hook behind it, put the right hand behind it again. If I had hit him with that last left hook, he would have been flat-lined.”

Moore added: “He should have been knocked out in the second round. That’s really what should have happened. I was going to knock him out at the end of the third, but then he headbutted me.”

Moore pressed the action to begin the third round, but Wright had fully recovered from the end of the second. Still, the 6-foot-5 heavyweight was looking to recapture the magic he found only to accidentally clash heads with Wright, which opened up a nasty cut over Moore’s right eye. Two rounds later with the constant blood flowing into Moore’s right eye led to the fight being stopped and sent to the scorecards due to the cut being caused by an accidental foul.

Moore won 50-44 on judges Don Ackerman and Don Trella’s scorecards and 49-45 on Eric Marlinski’s scorecard.

“I’m a warrior,” Moore said. “I’ll fight through whatever needs to be fought through, but the cut slowed me down. The cut did affect me. I couldn’t really see out of my right eye.”

Despite the anticlimactic finish, Moore noticed the growth he’s made after his second fight with trainer Charles Whittaker and feels he’s only scratching the surface of his potential.

“I'm still learning,” Moore said. “I'm learning on the job. I'm still getting the feel of doing everything correctly. This fight really helped me believe in the things that my coaches are saying. The Skylar Lacy fight was my first fight with [Whittaker]. Then my next fight was with Stanley Wright, and I saw the improvement. I'm like, man, I am getting better. So now I'm just really excited to learn more and get back into the gym. I’m going to come in better shape next fight.”

The Lakeland-based heavyweight has his sights set on bigger fights the next time he steps into the ring. One fight that would more than fit the bill is a potential bout against Jared Anderson.

Moore called out Anderson after his win over Wright. If they were to meet, it wouldn’t be the first time they shared the ring. The two American heavyweights had a heated sparring session on March 27, 2021, and Moore said he got the better of Anderson before things culminated in the two needing to be separated from each other.

Anderson (18-1, 15 KOs), 25, is a promising heavyweight prospect but suffered the first loss of his career Aug. 3, 2024, when he was stopped in the 5th round by Martin Bakole. In his lone fight since then, defeating Marios Kollias by unanimous decision on Feb. 14.

“Before his loss to Martin Bakole, we sparred and I was getting the better of him at one time and he kind of threw a little temper tantrum and got mad with a whole bunch of people in the gym and we got into a scuffle,” Moore said. “He’s one of the best heavyweights in the United States. I’m one of the best heavyweights in the United States. I think that’s a fight that fans want to see.

”I think we match up equally. The only thing that has to be measured is who has the bigger heart.”

Anderson isn’t the only name Moore hopes to step into the ring with in the near future. He also would like to face some of the top heavyweights across the pond, including undefeated interim WBA heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley and Moses Itauma, who is arguably the best prospect in boxing.

Regardless of who is standing across from him, Moore believes he belongs among the best in a heavyweight division that’s starting to undergo a bit of transition with former champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua, current unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk close to the end of their respective careers and Tyson Fury potentially retired for good.

And if he were to have his way, Moore would be among the many ascending heavyweights vying to cement themselves as the next top guy in the division.

“This next fight, you're gonna see another humongous jump again,” Moore said. “My next fight, I'm saying it’s going to be a crazy knockout also. “You see how it knocked Stanley’s ass out. It really was a knockout.

“It's going to be crazy, bro. I'm working every day. I'm really a weapon. I'm a weapon of mass destruction.”