Calm before the Carson storm: Pacheco and Fulghum are set for Saturday

CARSON — There was no trash talk and hardly a word between them. Diego Pacheco and Darius Fulghum met for their final face-off Friday with nothing to say to each other, and nothing to prove until Saturday. Fulghum said afterward it was the first time he really got to look Pacheco in the eyes. "I'm ready for the moment," he said. "I'm going to seize it for sure."

Both fighters made weight at Dignity Health Sports Park, Pacheco at 168 pounds and Fulghum at 167.7, setting the stage for Saturday's 12-round super middleweight main event. The WBC Silver and WBO International titles are on the line, the WBA has named it an eliminator, and the main card kicks off at 5 p.m. PT live on DAZN and TNT.

Pacheco (26-0, 19 KOs) is 25 years old, ranked No. 6 by The Ring, and fresh off an 11th-round stoppage of Immanuwel Aleem in July, his second fight with Hall of Fame trainer Buddy McGirt in his corner. He is also comfortable in this building. When the Chris Mannix rattled off his record at the venue, Pacheco jumped in to fix the math. "I'm 4-0," he said. "Four knockouts."

Diego said working with McGirt has had “a really big impact,” and that he doesn’t see himself as a work in progress. “I’ve always been a great fighter, I’ve always been a winner my whole life,” he said. “This is exactly where I belong. We’re destined for greatness.” His prediction was just as short: “DP on top, LA on top.

Fulghum (15-1-1, 13 KOs) has been confident all week, saying Pacheco made a mistake picking him, but he has stayed away from the insults. The 30-year-old Golden Boy fighter admitted he had a tough 2025, and he sounds like a man who plans to make the most of the second chance. "I feel like people are sleeping on me and I'm ready to wake them all up," he said. At the presser he added that nobody has seen a style like his, and that he has no doubt he is winning.

He also had a message for Pacheco about opportunity. Fulghum said he is grateful Golden Boy gave him the chance to redeem last year, and that fighters who let world title shots pass may not get them back. 

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn called it a backhanded compliment and invited Pacheco to respond. Pacheco kept it respectful. "That has never even crossed my mind," he said. "I know exactly where I'm headed. I know where I come from."

The respect goes both ways. "Darius is a great fighter. I take nothing from him," Pacheco said, and he thanked Fulghum again for taking the fight. He is not overlooking him either. "I'm not here on accident," Pacheco said at the presser. "I fought guys ranked higher than him before." Fulghum, he promised, will get "the DP show."

Hearn made clear what he wants to see from his man. He called Pacheco the future of the division and said a dominant win should send him up on the turnbuckle calling out Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia. "He's 26-0. He's 25 years of age," Hearn said. "Get through tomorrow night, call them out." Hearn also cautioned that it will not be easy, and praised Fulghum as a real top-quality American 168-pounder.

The Los Angeles crowd will be a big part of the story. Pacheco thanked his city in Spanish after the weigh-in. "Here you have a champion from Los Angeles," he said, in my translation. "I come from nothing and I have worked very hard to be here." Fulghum is not coming alone, either. "My whole family came out here, we're going to be chanting DFG the entire night Saturday," he said.

Fulghum used the presser to give a shout-out to Fort Hood, where he grew up, and to his father, who he said gave him something more valuable than money. "He didn't bless me with generational wealth, but one thing he did bless me with was generational work ethic," Fulghum said. "And I put that to full use in this camp."

The undercard is also set. Anthony "Princesa" Olascuaga defends his WBO flyweight title against Yuberjen Martinez in the co-feature, and heavyweight Federico Pacheco Jr. meets Jack May. Both bouts checked in at weigh-ins Friday.

Fulghum says he’s ready to seize the moment. Pacheco says this is exactly where he belongs. By Saturday night, only one of them will be right.