Pacheco Wants Canelo; Hearn Suggests Munguia Instead

Diego Pacheco wants Canelo Alvarez after stopping Maciej Sulecki in the sixth round to take his record to 22-0. 

Pacheco has been building his name over the years, leading many to believe he could be the next big Mexican fighter. With 18 knockouts to his name, he certainly has the punching power, even if he has not faced elite opposition. However, he was getting tagged more than usual during the earlier rounds, meaning he could get punished by the other big hitters.

Aside from Canelo, there is Caleb Plant, Jaime Munguia and Christian Mbilli, to name a few, who would punish Pacheco’s mistakes. But Pacheco used his  6’4 height and range to wear his man down eventually. He landed a body shot, the ultimate punch that got him the victory. After the win, he turned his attention to Canelo. 

Pacheco Reacts

“The body shot, and that’s all she wrote. When I saw him fall, I could tell he wasn’t getting up. I could tell he was feeling my punches. I could see that he was slowing down from the fourth or fifth round. Definitely. I don’t back down from any challenge. Let’s get it on [when asked about a Canelo fight],” Pacheco said 

The CompuBox numbers showed that Pacheco connected with 49 percent of his power shots to the body. Meanwhile, only 5 of his 42 power shots went to the body, even if it was successful. Canelo’s main strength is attacking the body with his hooks once he can close the distance. He has shown that against fighters who use their range, as shown by his win over Caleb Plant.

Plant was outboxing Canelo during the earlier rounds. But once the Mexican got on the inside, he could target the midsection to stop Plant. Pacheco could suffer the same fate if he were to take on Canelo. 
Despite this, Eddie Hearn backed his fighter. He stated that Pacheco would be the WBO mandatory for the winner of Canelo-Berlanga, who will face off on September 14.

Next Steps

“Coming of age performance from a superstar in the making,. He’s 23-years-old. Los Angeles is behind him. He’s #1 in the world. The world title shot is coming, and it’s going to come very soon. You talk about a big opportunity. By the time the mandatory shot comes around against Canelo Alvarez or Edgar Berlanga, Diego Pacheco against either of those guys is going to be a massive fight. He is going to be the mandatory for the winner of Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga,” Hearn stated 

The danger for Hearn is that his fighter damages his brand early. Canelo took a risk when he boxed Floyd Mayweather at 23. The difference in class was visible, although Alvarez would later recover to become a four-weight world champion, making him one of the best in the sport. Hearn has suggested that he wants his man to fight Jaime Munguia in a mega-Mexican clash. 

“Jaime Munguia has left Golden Boy and is now with Top Rank. So, maybe that’s a fight that can get made. We’re in a great position because we’ve got our world title shot [against Canelo Alvarez]. It’s locked in,” Hearn revealed

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