CARSON, Calif. – Diego Pacheco is on cloud nine following a one-punch, sixth-round body shot knockout win against Maciej Sulecki on Saturday.
Conversations have quickly evolved into what’s next for the 23-year-old ascending super middleweight contender Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs).
Division king Canelo Alvarez’s three-year rule still remains, and next on his hit list is Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14. The fighter Alvarez most recently conquered, Jaime Munguia, will also return from his first career loss less than one week later to face Erik Bazinyan on Sept. 20.
Pacheco believes he’s primed to face Munguia in his ongoing development.
“I think Jaime is a great fighter,” Pacheco told BoxingScene and other media following his beatdown of Sulecki. “It would be a great fight between us and the fans would love it. Let’s get it on. He has heart and power. But I feel like he’s missing the boxing. He can’t use his legs and move around. Me, I’m an all-around good boxer. I can bang in there and get in close and box to win a fight. I think that is what Munguia is missing, and that is why he didn’t beat Canelo Alvarez.
“People know that I can fight and that I have the skills – all that is missing now is the big name on my resume to cement myself in the boxing world as one of the great fighters.”
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn believes a Pacheco-Munguia matchup means big business, especially in Southern California. Hearn would plan to stage a potential Pacheco-Munguia matchup in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena, home of the NBA’s Lakers and NHL’s Kings.
“It’s a brilliant, tremendous and tough fight and I think that it sells out the arena without a doubt,” Hearn told BoxingScene and other media. “Maybe that’s a fight that could made. Style-wise, it’s a great fight. Pacheco would stop Jaime Munguia … When I call out Munguia he is probably watching saying, ‘Why would I fight Diego Pacheco?’ Then you do the math, and you start realizing the numbers it could generate. It could be big paydays on both sides.
“When Pacheco fights a name, it’s going to do big numbers. All of these guys at 168 pounds will fight him if the money is right. We have to keep making sure to build his profile to make sure the money is right. Whoever wants it. It’s my job to put the fights forward, but he has never declined a fight.”
Whether or not Munguia is next for Pacheco remains to be seen, because Munguia must first pass his test against the undefeated Armenian Bazinyan.
But for now, Pacheco is still basking in his win against Sulecki after a tough fight last time out in April against Shawn McCalman.
“It was a great outcome and I am super happy with how things went against Sulecki,” said Pacheco.
“You can’t rush into anything at this level. I learned from my last fight not to look for the knockout from the beginning. I took my time with Sulecki to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes.
“I was never threatened. I felt comfortable in there. I could see everything he was trying to do. The preparation for this fight was amazing. This was the outcome of the hard work we put in.
“I didn’t want to show him that I was going to go to the body. I made sure to land some shots up top first so he could feel them. He started covering up the top and it opened the body, and that is all she wrote. I saw it in slow motion, it landed perfectly, and that was it.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine, and more. He’s been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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