Many questioned whether the hype was premature after a blunt display over ten rounds during a showcase co-main event opportunity four months ago. In response, #1 WBO world ranked super-middleweight contender Diego Pacheco delivered another highlight reel moment in passing the toughest test of his career thus far overnight against Maciej Sulecki with bigger plans on the way.
Pacheco pleased, learning lessons from previous bout
DIEGO Pacheco’s stock rose again on Saturday night, as the super-middleweight banished any lingering frustration from his UD10 win over Shawn McCalman last time out with a sixth-round body shot stoppage against seasoned veteran Maciej Sulecki for the 23-year-old’s new career-best win in their Matchroom main event.
It was an evening where British cruiserweight champion Cheavon Clarke answered some questions and posed new ones on a memorable Stateside debut over ten rounds against tough operator Efetobor Apochi (12-3, 12 KOs) to further enhance the 31-year-old’s reputation abroad as he targets world-level challenges before long.
Yet the night at Los Angeles’ Dignity Health Sports Park was capped by Pacheco displaying patience and careful punch selection. Those two components paid dividends in a devastating way against Warsaw’s Sulecki, who’d only been beaten by former middleweight champions Daniel Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade a year apart.
Pacheco said afterwards that he learned not to headhunt after his most recent outing, opting for calm and calculated composure as Sulecki was being repeatedly tagged to the head, all the while setting up a fight-ending body punch in round six.
Only eight of Pacheco’s punches were to the body and with a 81-49 connect advantage, his attack downstairs felt fitting just as former world champion-turned-analyst Sergio Mora on the DAZN broadcast called for him to diversify attacks more.
“It was a great outcome, super happy with how things went. You can’t rush into anything at this level. I learned from my last fight not to look for the knockout from the beginning… took my time, made sure I didn’t make any mistakes, was never threatened and could see everything he tried to do.
This fight’s preparation was amazing, the outcome of the hard work we put in. Didn’t want to show him I was going to go to the body, made sure to land some shots up top so he could feel them, started covering up and it opened the body, that’s all she wrote. I saw it in slow motion, it landed perfectly.”
Now 22-0 with 18 KOs, he wants more and called out former WBO light-middleweight world champion Jaime Munguia, who produced a spirited display but was thoroughly outboxed by Canelo last time out. He returns from a first pro career defeat vs. unbeaten Armenian hopeful Erik Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) on Sept. 20.
Eddie Hearn, Pacheco’s promoter, believes his charge is around a year away from boxing for world championships at 168lbs – whether that be testing himself against now-former undisputed kingpin Canelo Alvarez or someone else entirely.
Canelo will defend his unified titles against unbeaten contender Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14, having been stripped of the IBF strap after opting out of a mandatory defence against the sanctioning body’s #1 contender William Scull (22-0, 9 KOs).
Pre-fight, Hearn revealed an eagerness to see Sulecki push his man into deep waters as the Pole promised, given they’re gradually stepping up the levels between prospect and bonafide contender with him, and would’ve been pleased by the results after an underwhelming showing on the Hitchins-Lemos undercard.
“In a way, you want him to go into deep waters because when you face the levels of [Jaime] Munguia and [Christian] Mbilli, Canelo, you need to have gone through that adversity.”
- Hearn’s pre-fight assessment, keen for his charge to develop more world-level seasoning before an inevitable world title shot
Afterwards, he doubled down on that notion by namechecking both Munguia and Christian Mbilli as potential next opponents for Pacheco. Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) has three wins in 2024 and is ranked #1 by the WBC as Canelo’s next mandatory with them, as well as #2 with the WBA, so it’s unlikely he’d be willing to risk his current status against an opponent six years younger, even if the money makes sense.
“Munguia and Mbilli are the guys who bridge the gap for Pacheco to face Canelo – it’s always a jump – you don’t want it to be too big, but we have time.
We felt this performance was going to come, the development has been perfect, a new level of maturity and he’s getting more comfortable with everything.”
- Hearn names two big potential fight options while sharing some insight on how Pacheco is building
Although Berlanga has recently said he might be outgrowing the weight class, there are still a series of intriguing names in the 168lb division and alongside Cuban-born German resident Osleys Iglesias (12-0, 11 KOs), Pacheco features highly among the newer generation keen to seize control from long-reigning champion Canelo.
Picture source: Matchroom, quotes hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 