But on Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Fulghum showed exactly why he feels he was prematurely counted out of his fight with Pacheco, who he beat by unanimous decision.

The bookmakers were wrong, but also among Fulghum’s doubters was Pacheco's promoter Eddie Hearn, who guaranteed a win for his man.

Now Fulghum has proved his worth, he's after some of the super middleweight division's biggest names.

"I asked Eddie a question at the press conference, 'how confident are you he'd beat me?' He said Diego will be the best super middleweight in the world, and he is a great talent, but out of everything he said about Diego, now he has to say the same about me,” Fulghum said after the fight. “That puts me in with the likes of Canelo, Munguia, get my rematch with Bek. If I had it my way, I'd love to be the king of Houston and fight Jermall Charlo at Toyota Center. That's what I want the most but the division is wide open, I'm down to fight anyone, | just want to be a world champion."

Getting revenge on Bektemir Melikuziev could be an eventual option, but the Uzbek, who handed Fulghum his first defeat in 2025, is on his way to a matchup against WBA super middleweight champion Jaime Munguia in 2027. Fulghum (16-1-1, 13 KOs) could face the winner as his victory over Pacheco was final eliminator.

Charlo, a former two-division champion, is inactive and has fought just three times since 2021.

Fulghum is now a man with options, but he might be forced to run things back with Pacheco. Hearn, once the decision was delivered, revealed Pacheco has a rematch clause in his contract.

In the end, whether it’s a Pacheco rematch, a dream bout against Charlo, or the Canelo Alvarez lottery ticket, Fulghum is appreciative of all the support he’s had behind the scenes.

"I always want to demonstrate I've got the most heart in boxing, wanna win so bad it's crazy, just thankful Diego gave me an opportunity,” Fulghum said. “The biggest difference was my mentality, got to redeem all my wrongdoings from last year, I gave it my all, so did Diego so shout out to him. People were counting me out this time last year, my mindset was to prove them all wrong.

“We always joke about it but when I first turned pro I said I'd sign with Eddie Hearn and almost did, this was a surreal moment getting in the ring with Eddie's top dude, it proved to me I made the best decision to sign with Golden Boy. Through my tough last year, they stuck with me, huge thanks to everyone on the team for believing in me.”