Darius Fulghum Is Focused on May 22 Fight And Isn't Looking Beyond It

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Darius Fulghum wants a world title shot in 2026 but is thinking of nothing beyond his upcoming fight.

Fulghum (14-1-1, 12 KOs) will face Yoanki Urrutia in a super middleweight bout on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

2025 was a hard year for the former USA Boxing amateur standout. Fulghum won a bout early in the year, stopping Winfred Harris Jr. In May, he would lose a split decision to Bektemir Melikuziev and have a disappointing November draw to David Stevens. Fulghum went from being one fight away from a title, when he fought Melikuziev in a WBA super middleweight eliminator bout, to being at a crossroads on Friday night in Silicon Valley. Though he hinted at wanting to fight for a belt this year at the press conference, Fulghum is living in the here and now.

“Beyond this fight, I don’t know what I am doing,” Fulghum told FightsATW. “I don’t know what I am doing on May 22.”

The first thing he did at the start of this year was look for some new scenery. Fulghum and his longtime trainer, Darnell Pierce, took the show on the road, working with Julian Chua at Brickhouse Boxing in Los Angeles.

“This year is about change and growth,” Fulghum said. “Focus is a big word for me, as a big part of the problem for me last year was losing focus.”

Urrutia, 17-2 (7 KOs), but his last fight was not what he hoped for. The 29-year-old Cuban boxer residing in Miami lost to Ryan Adams, a fighter who now holds a record of 12-11-1 (7 KOs). A majority of his fights have also been at middleweight, with the move to super middleweight coming in 2023. Urrutia’s other career loss came in 2023 against Euri Cedeno.

“The only thing that matters to me is getting my hand raised,” Fulghum said. “I see myself applying pressure, breaking this guy down, and coming out on top.”