By Jack Walsh
IN an entertaining six rounds, Diego Pacheco knocked out Maciej Sulecki with a jarring left uppercut to the physique final Saturday, as the 2 co-headlined an eight-fight card (5 of which have been televised) on the Dignity Well being Sports activities Park in Carson, California.
Pacheco, the 23-year-old California native, began out comparatively gradual by way of battle tempo however finally constructed up momentum by initiating the usage of his sturdy proper hand and fixed pesky jab towards his 35-year-old Polish opponent.
However, the query stays now: what’s subsequent for Pacheco, who’s the #1 ranked super-middleweight within the WBO, and potential necessary for Canelo Álvarez?
Pacheco claims, like all different younger fighters, that he’s undeniably prepared for Álvarez, however true boxing followers know that this battle would by no means show amusing, particularly with defensive holes that have been clearly current all through his efficiency final Saturday night.
Maciej is an above-average skilled, though he’s a middle-of-the-road contender who has fought lesser opponents and journeymen over his previous couple of bouts. He was nonetheless capable of land cleanly and effectively towards Pacheco at instances, for instance, his sharp left hook in spherical three.
Pacheco fights along with his fingers down in spurts and lacks constant head motion, which is a real recipe for catastrophe for somebody probably going through hall-of-fame-level offences—like Canelo.
The saying “iron sharpens iron” is definitely true within the boxing world, however often not towards skilled legends of their ladder profession years. This is the reason fighters within the high 10 want to begin preventing each other continuously fairly than leap at a pay-per-view payday which will current itself if sought out. It’s higher for contenders’ expertise, legacy, and build up boxing as a sport, which solely presents nail-biting championship occasions.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 04: Canelo Alvarez lands a left towards Jaime Munguia of their tremendous middleweight championship title battle at T-Cellular Enviornment on Might 04, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture by Christian Petersen/Getty Pictures)
Pacheco’s Promoter, Eddie Hearn, and all boxing pundits alike appear to really feel {that a} Jaime Munguia matchup could be the right check for Pacheco — and it will be.
Munguia is a former WBO junior-middleweight world champion and may function a mirror instance for Pacheco concerning why lack of expertise and developmental flaws can not outweigh dedication and starvation to dominate an all-time, former undisputed nice in Canelo.
Munguia is a step up in competitors for Pacheco, and provided that Diego defeats him will he maybe show that he has a preventing probability towards Canelo.
However, even nonetheless, working by means of a couple of fighters within the high 10 — which he claimed he’s open to doing within the post-fight DAZN interview — looks like a wise transfer to “sharpen his iron” and brighten up his defensive expertise to actually earn a aggressive shot on the strap.