Promoter Eddie Hearn wants Diego Pacheco to gain more experience of a couple of fights before challenging unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez for his titles in 2025.
Pacheco looked good, stopping journeyman Maciel Sulecki in the sixth round on August 31st in Carson, California. It was a good victory, but his opponent was on the old side at 35 and not talented enough to help him prepare for Canelo. Beating Sulecki worked to create hype, but even in that department, more was needed to generate a lot of interest in Pacheco’s career.
Limited Options for Meaningful Fights
Hearn mentioned wanting Jaime Munguia or Christian Mbilli for Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs), but the chances of him getting those fights are not good, especially if he’s unwilling to pay top dollar. Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) is already ranked #1 with the WBC, so his promoters will want to help Hearn out.
Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) just suffered his first loss to Canelo last May, and his new promoters at Top Rank will want to bring him back quickly, hoping to get a second fight against the Mexican star before he retires.
Options for Pacheco
– Christian Mbilli
– Osleys Iglesias
– Jaime Munguia
– Caleb Plant
– Edgar Berlanga
“Pacheco is fast becoming the class of 168 now that David Morrell and David Benavidez have moved up. He looked phenomenal. I think that was a statement win to become the first man to stop the tough Sulecki, especially with the way he did it with a body shot,” said Chris Algieri to the Probox TV YouTube channel, talking about Diego Pacheco’s sixth-round knockout win over Maciej Sulecki on August 3rd in Carson, California.
Pacheco is one of the best contenders in the division, but the top guys. Mbilli, Munguia, Iglesias, and Plant are better fighters than Pacheco. He might be able to beat one or two of those fighters, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost to all of them.
The Need for Experience
“I think we’re going to see more improvement as time goes on. He’s only 23-years-old. I think he has a super bright future and a high ceiling. There are plenty of dance partners if he doesn’t get the Canelo fight. To me, he wants all the smoke from everyone around because he believes he’s the best in the world,” said Algieri.
Pacheco might improve, but winning a world title will be difficult for him, while Mbilli, Iglesias, and Munguia are around the 168-lb division after Canelo retires. If Pacheco moves up to 175, he can make something happen in six or seven years once Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol retire.
“Eddie said, ‘Two more fights, maybe three,’ but if that call comes [from Canelo Alvarez], you take it,” said Algieri.”I would like to see Pacheco develop and gain a little more experience. I think this was a really good test for him. Sulecki is one of those guys who has been in top-flight competition. He’s been in world title fights and has given as good as he’s gotten.”
If he wants to get experience for Pacheco, his options are slim. Plant, Mbilli, and Munguia agree to fight him. The only one that might be interested is the Cuban Osleys Iglesias, and Hearn doesn’t want that kind of experience for Pacheco. Hearn didn’t mention his name for a reason. He knows that Pacheco would likely lose badly to Iglesias by knockout, and that would ruin his chances for a Canelo fight.
“For Pacheco to show his class and get him out the way he did is really important. Now, moving forward. There’s a lot of young, hungry guys at 168. You’ve got Berlanga, who has the Canelo fight in a couple of weeks, but you’ve also got Mbilli. Christian Mbilli needs a dance partner. He should go past Derevyanchenko,” said Algieri.
Mbilli’s promoters are probably going to play it safe with him after the problems he had against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. That fight showed that Mbilli is limited on defense, and he’s already ranked high with the WBC. He doesn’t need to fight someone young and hungry like Pacheco.
“I think that’s a fun fight. There’s Jaime Munguia. He’s already got the Canelo title shot. There are a lot of young, hungry guys that Diego matches up well with. I think it would be important to have that kind of experience prior to a fight against Canelo Alvarez,” said Algieri.
Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) would be a good option, but he’s never been matched tough, apart from his fight with Canelo. He struggled against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. It doesn’t seem likely that his new promoters at Top Rank will want to let him fight Pacheco. He might be able to beat him, but the risk would be too high for them to make the clash while they’re rebuilding.
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