Bek the Bully Outlasts Fulghum in Vegas Thriller

Bektemir Melikuziev the Uzbek prospect best known as Bek the Bully improved to 16-1 with ten knockouts after last night’s grueling decision victory. The win is his ninth in a row since he was knocked out by Gabriel Rosado back in 2021. The crowd at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas was treated to an exciting back and forth fight. Early in the broadcast on DAZN former champion and commentator Sergio Mora praised Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions for this type of risky matchmaking for prospects. Mora’s endorsement proved corrected as both Bek and Darius Fulghum traded punches in an excellent main event.

This fight is exactly why prospect match ups are great for boxing. Prospects are generally young and talented fighters who are still molding their style and polishing their fundamentals. These raw abilities matched with their flaws allow for these high energy fights where both men trade punches and have success. This fight followed that type of script. The three judges all agreed on a close but unanimous result with all three scoring the bout 114-112. Getting to that conclusion included a point deduction, a bleeding nose, a swollen cheek, and a knockdown in the final round.

The fight began at a fast pace as both men traded punches early. Fulghum was the taller fighter at 6’1 versus Bek’s 5’9 and it showed in the ring. Fulghum had success with his jab as Bek was looking to bring his left down the middle out of his southpaw stance. The fight was very close after four rounds; though I was not scoring the contest a 38-38 score seemed like the right one. In the middle of the fight Fulghum began to find his way as Bek appeared to tire from the viscous pace set by both men. Fulghum began to score with his right uppercut and drew blood from Bek’s nose. Interestingly, it was Fulghum winning on the inside and ripping the body despite being the taller man. Logic would dictate that Fulghum should be the man on the outside jabbing but Bek’s powerful jab was effective even from the outside and his footwork generated angles.

Bek’s low point in the fight came when referee Thomas Taylor took a point from the Uzbek fighter for excessive holding. Taylor had warned Bek for holding and at times it was unclear if he understood the English speaking American referee. Taylor did warn Bek’s corner speaking through the interpreter that was present so it was not a surprise when a point was taken. Bek sensing the moment finished the round tough behind a powerful jab and left cross that began to knock back the head of Fulghum. I believed this was a strong enough round for Bek that the round should have been scored 9-9 and not 10-8 for Fulghum with the penalty.

The fight became a back and forth affair in the second half as the two fighters appeared to exchange rounds. I felt Bek took the eighth based on power punching and activity. In the corner Bek’s team implored him to press on and attack but he came out sluggish and Fulghum won the round behind the uppercut and body punching. Again, the shorter Bek succeeded when moving at range and lost when standing in front of Fulghum on the inside. In the tenth Bek came back and won the round on activity and grit though it was clear he was tiring. Fulghum seemed fresher and was taking the punches well and delivering hard shots of his own but was not pushing the fight enough. In the eleventh round Bek looked gassed again and Fulghum again won another round in the seesaw back and forth match (this round was very close).

The fight had a dramatic conclusion in the twelfth round as Bek rushed Fulghum early in the round. A series of punches sent Fulghum to the canvas for a count. Fulghum did not appear to be in any serious danger of being stopped but was caught by surprise and out of position. Bek pressed and built on his lead in the round but faded. Both men traded as the bell sounded. Fulghum raised his hands first but it was Bek who got his hand raised in victory.

Bek fits in nicely in an interesting super middleweight division. He entered the fight ranked third in the WBA and twelfth in the WBC. The division has a fully unified champion in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez but is pretty competitive after that. The division is on the young side and has a crop of many tested fighters along with some promising undefeated contenders as well. Bek’s aggressive style would make for great match ups against the likes of Christian M’billi, Diego Pacheco, Caleb Plant, Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia (PED scandal aside). Bek had flashes of excellence on his toes and generating angles. This allowed him to slip and escape and also catch Fulghum with hard jabs and crosses. His body attack as a shorter fighter will prove a tough obstacle in the division.

Fulghum impressed me in defeat and I would love to watch him fight again. A rematch would interest me as well as both their styles mesh for great action. I think Fulghum is going to kick himself when he watches this fight back. He had many opportunities to win more rounds but got out worked. He also had defensive lapses where he would let his hands come down or he would charge in aggressively and get caught. Down the stretch when he needed to attack and pile up points he let Bek be the leader. He has solid skills behind a jab and with solid inside fighting. He can be a great fight for the other mentioned contenders as well.