Diego Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs) is now the #1 contender for Canelo Alvarez’s WBO super middleweight title.
The previous #1 WBO, Jaime Munguia was beaten last May by Canelo, clearing the way for Pacheco, 23, to take the top spot. It’s only taken Pacheco six years as a professional to rise to the top, sitting in the pole position for a massive payday fight against Canelo.
It takes years for many fighters to get a shot at Canelo, and some never make it despite having loads of talent.
Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo likely won’t choose Pacheco for his next title defense in September, as it’s believed by many that he’ll choose to his WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga for that fight.
If things work out in Pacheco’s favor, he could get a shot at Canelo in 2025 to make life-changing money against the Mexican superstar.
Canelo doesn’t have a lot of options at 168 now that David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr. have moved up to 175. It leaves Pacheco as one of the top guys for Canelo.
Pacheco’s Rise Through the Ranks
The Eddie Hearn-promoted Pacheco is coming off a ten-round unanimous decision over Shawn McCalman last April in Las Vegas. It was an impressive performance by Pacheco, who had to figure out how to deal with the hand speed advantage of the little-known McCalman.
Before that fight, Pacheco defeated the tough Marcelo Coceres, a fighter that had given Edgar Berlanga and Billy Joe Saunders fits, Manuel Gallegos, and Jack Cullen.
Hearn hasn’t said who he plans on matching Pacheco up against next, but it would be good to see him take on one of these top super middleweight contenders:
– Christian Mbilli
– Caleb Plant
– Vladimir Shishkin
– Erik Bazinyan
– Sergiy Derevyanchenko
It depends on how willing Hearn is to throw Pacheco in with dangerous contenders, right, because he’s not faced anyone on the level of these contenders yet.
To prepare for a talented fighter like Canelo, Pacheco should fight one of the contenders because the best name on his resume thus far is arguably Coceres and he’s got a lot of mileage on him.
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