Hearn Eyes Canelo Fight For Pacheco

Diego Pacheco is being positioned for a Canelo Alvarez fight, and Eddie Hearn is already laying out the logic.

The Matchroom promoter revealed that Pacheco was originally earmarked for a fight with Jaime Munguia. Those plans became more complicated when Munguia won the WBA middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super-middleweight title, shifting the negotiating dynamic from a voluntary fight between two top contenders to a mandatory or title-challenging situation with different financial expectations.

"The one that we really wanted was Jaime Munguia. I spoke to Fernando Beltran many times about that fight. He went on and done brilliant and won a world title, so now we would be challenging for the belt, which sometimes makes it a bit more difficult to work out a deal,” Hearn

With the Munguia route more complicated, Hearn pivoted to a larger name. Canelo is scheduled to fight WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in October, attempting to reclaim the 168-pound title he lost to Terence Crawford last September when Crawford dethroned him as undisputed champion. If Canelo gets past Mbilli and Pacheco continues winning impressively, Hearn believes the fight makes itself.

"You look at Canelo, if he beats Mbilli, and Diego is coming through and looking good — he will be 26 or 27-0, from Los Angeles, Mexican-American. He is a good contender for a Canelo Alvarez fight,” Hearn

Hearn also mentioned Hamzah Sheeraz as another possibility for Pacheco, which suggests the plan is to keep him active against high-profile opponents while the Canelo situation develops. The Munguia fight, though more complicated than anticipated, has not been ruled out entirely. For Pacheco, the path has been outlined. The work of walking it starts now.