David Stevens and
Darius Fulghum fittingly fought to a majority draw in a 10-round super middleweight fight beset by constant wrestling and holding Saturday night.
Fulghum and Stevens shared the responsibility for their dreadful bout because they took turns initiating clinches in the co-feature before Vergil Ortiz encountered Erickson Lubin in the main event of a card DAZN streamed from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Judge Javier Alvarez scored their fight for Fulghum, 96-94, but David Iacobucci and Chris Migliore scored the hugfest a draw, 95-95 apiece.
Stevens (15-2-1, 10 KOs), of Reading, Pennsylvania, slipped to 2-2-1 in his past five fights. One of those losses came against Melikuziev (16-1, 10 KOs), who edged him by split decision a year ago in Las Vegas.
The shorter Stevens occasionally got inside and connected with clean punches, but the crowd expressed its dissatisfaction numerous times because they held and wrestled for position.
The relentless grappling marred the ninth and 10th rounds, when neither fighter could separate himself from his opponent.
A jarring jab by Stevens staggered Fulghum late in the eighth round. He landed a hard left hook after Fulghum hit him with a clean left hook of his own.
Stevens’ comeback continued in a successful sixth round for him, but Fulghum caught him with a right uppercut that Stevens took well a little less than a minute into the seventh round.
A right-left combination by Stevens landed with just over a minute to go in the fifth round. Stevens caught Fulghum with a wide right hand a few seconds before the fourth ended.
Fulghum seemed to have the advantage after three competitive rounds.
Amari Jones tunes up Shady Gamhour
Amari Jones made the statement he sought.
The powerful middleweight prospect became the first opponent to knock out Shady Gamhour on the
Vergil Ortiz-Erickson Lubin undercard at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Oakland's Jones dropped Gamhour twice late in the third round and won by knockout when referee Ruben Perez waved an end to their scheduled 10-rounder at 2:54 of the third.
Jones (15-0, 13 KOs) first floored Gamhour with a right hand to the side of his head, which sent him to his gloves and knees with 21 seconds to go in the third.
Gamhour answered Perez’s count at seven, but Jones pounced on him and dropped him with another right hand. Perez didn’t count after the second knockdown.
Jones, 23, has won six of his past seven bouts inside the distance. Gamhour (14-3, 9 KOs), a 35-year-old native Swede who resides and trains in Pensacola, Fla., had lost only back-to-back decisions to Steve Rolls and Devontae McDonald.
Joshua Edwards Stops Zeno Vooris
Heavyweight prospect Joshua Edwards boxed beyond the first round for the first time in five professional fights, but he wasn’t tested at all by Zeno Vooris.
The 2024 U.S. Olympian from Houston picked apart a bloodied Vooris until his cornermen stopped their scheduled six-rounder at 2:34 of the third. Edwards improved to 5-0 and recorded his fifth knockout.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on Vooris’ right eyelid, which was examined twice during the second round. He suffered another cut over his left eye in the third, when Edwards hit him with various power punches.
Las Vegas’ Vooris (5-2, 5 KOs) lost by TKO for the second time in his past three fights.
Robin Safar Dominates Derick Miller
Cruiserweight contender Robin Safar took target practice on Derick Miller for much of their 10-round bout and won a wide unanimous decision.
Sweden’s Safar (19-0, 13 KOs), ranked ninth among
The Ring’s top 10 cruiserweights, landed an array of power punches throughout their bout, including a left hook that knocked Miller’s mouthpiece across the ring late in the sixth round. Referee Laurence Cole deducted a point from Safar for intentionally head-butting after the bell sounded to end the second round, but he still won very comfortably on the cards of judges Javier Alvarez (99-90), David Iacobucci (99-90) and Chris Migliore (98-91).
Miller (18-1, 10 KOs, 1 NC), of Monroe, Michigan, entered the ring undefeated but he took a big step up in competition by facing Safar. His heavily favored opponent continually exploited his lack of speed and defensive deficiencies, but Miller displayed a solid chin, never stopped swinging and occasionally caught Safar with right hands that kept him honest.
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing