Diego Pacheco KOs Maciej Sulecki
Diego Pacheco hits like a ton of bricks and Maciej Sulecki found that out firsthand Saturday night in Carson, California at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The undefeated, 23-year-old super middleweight prospect ran his record to a perfect 22-0 with 18 KOs as he destroyed Suletsky with a nasty left hook to the body. Suleki had a chance to recover, but was unable to win the 10th.
Hear DAZN color commentator Sergio Mora’s appeal for the body shot seconds before Pacheco threw the punch that crumpled his opponent.
Mora has worked a number of Pacheco fights and this isn’t the first time he’s been heavily involved in his calls and analysis during the young Mexican fighter’s bouts.
During Pacheco’s scrap with Marcelo Coceres, Mora called the latter’s tendency to throw shots “behind Pacheco’s head” – meaning the veteran Argentine fighter was aiming for the area that would have been his opponent’s head as he was trying to avoid the punches.
Pacheco mentioned Coceres’ strategy in an exclusive interview with me a few days before his fight with Sulecki.
According to CompuBox’s Ben Chan: “Pacheco landed 49% of his hard punches and only 5 of the 42 punches he landed were body shots.” That explains Mora calling on Pacheco to make it more of a focus in his offense.
Pacheco’s final shot ended Sulecki’s night. Pacheco came into the fight ranked No. 4 by Ring magazine at 168 pounds. He is the WBO No. 1 contender, ranked No. 4 by the IBF and WBC and No. 14 by the WBA.
His WBO No.1 ranking could position him as a mandatory opponent for Canelo Alvarez later this year – assuming the latter successfully defends his titles against Edgar Berlanga on September 14 in Las Vegas. If Pacheco doesn’t take on Canelo Alvarez in his next fight, he could face Christian Mbili or Jaime Munguia.
The winner will be positioned to compete for the unified titles or a share of the 168-pound crown. I spoke with Pacheco’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, who mentioned this pick for his fighter, assuming he impressively beat Sulecki.
Pacheco noted the kind of winning statement that will get the attention of fighters and other supporters. It could land him on an upcoming Riyadh season card, more than likely in December or the first quarter of 2025.
The 168-pound division is suddenly getting quite interesting with Pacheco and Mbili emerging as potential challengers for Canelo in 2025.
