VERONA, New York – There always seems to be something out of the ordinary when Brandon Moore fights.

Most recently, Moore’s bout with Skylar Lacy ended in a disqualification when Lacy pushed Moore through the ropes and onto the floor of the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. 

On Friday night, Moore, a 31-year-old heavyweight from Lakeland, Florida, appeared to be on his way to an impressive knockout victory over the previously unbeaten Stanley Wright, only to settle for a disappointing technical decision win instead.

The scores were 49-45 and 50-44 twice, sending Wright, 14-1 (11 KOs), to his first defeat. Moore, 18-1 (10 KOs), has now won four straight since his fifth-round KO loss to Richard Torrez Jnr in May 2024.

The 6ft 6ins Moore made effective use of his height and reach, boxing smartly from the outside and catching Wright, of Charlotte, North Carolina, with straight rights coming in. Wright was rocked near the end of the first round by a right hand that buckled his knees.

Near the end of the second round, Moore landed a 1-2-3-4 combination that froze Wright, followed by a clean-up right hand that sent Wright to his back. Wright beat the count somehow but was still groggy when the bell saved him. As Moore looked to set up the knockout in the third round, Wright landed his most effective blow of the night, a head-butt that opened a severe cut on Moore’s left eye. The referee brought the doctor in to look at the cut but the fight was allowed to continue until the fifth, at which time the technical decision rule would come into play.

Wright, 34, fell to his first defeat, just four months after his biggest victory, an upset unanimous decision over Jeremiah Milton in January.

The card was promoted by Salita Promotions and aired live on DAZN.

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.