Pacheco calls Canelo after Sulecki KO, but is he ready?

Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) announced he is ready to face Canelo Alvarez following his sixth round knockout victory over Maciej Sulecki (32-3, 12 KOs) Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

(Credit: Michael Owens/Matchroom)

Fans and braggarts respond

Fans on social media overwhelmingly said Pacheco was “not ready” to face Canelo after watching how he performed against veteran Sulecki on Saturday night. The tall, stork-like 6’4″ Pacheco took plenty of hits in every round, including the sixth.

He is not sound defensively and gets by with his offense and the low level of opposition he has faced. Believe it or not, Sulecki was a step up for Pacheco, and he’s nowhere near the level of fighters like Canelo, Jaime Munguia, Christian Mbilli, or the two talents who recently left the 168-lb division, David Benavidez and David Morrell.

Pacheco is unified super middleweight champion Canelo’s #1 WBO contender, and if the sanctioning body orders the next fight, Diego, 23, says he’ll take it. First, Canelo must defend against his WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga on September 14 in Las Vegas.

Hearn’s enthusiasm meets skepticism

Hearn Eyes Munguia as Interim Opponent

Pacheco’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said tonight that he would like Diego to face Jaime Munguia.

“The body shot, and that’s all she wrote,” Diego Pacheco said DAZN Boxingtalking about his knockout win over Maciej Sulecki on Saturday night. “When I saw him fall, I could see he didn’t get up.”

Sulecki was ready to go by the fifth round after being hurt by a right hand from Pacheco. At the start of the sixth, Pacheco went for the finish and quickly stopped Sulecki with a left to the body that sent him down. Sulecki rolled onto his side after going down with the body shot, and never tried to get back up.

“I could tell he felt my punches,” Pacheco said of Sulecki. “I could see that he was slower from the fourth or fifth round. Definitely. I don’t back down from any challenge,” Pacheco said when asked if he would be ready to fight unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez if the sanctioning body names his WBO mandatory spot. “Let’s get it on.

“Eddie Hearn is right here. Maybe he can tell you when I’m going to get that shot,” says Pacheco.

Canelo will likely jump at the chance to fight Pacheco after defending against Edgar Berlanga next month. If the World Boxing Organization orders the Canelo-Pacheco fight, Canelo will not say no because he is an easy mark.

Hearn’s enthusiasm meets skepticism

“Becoming a superstar in the making,” promoter Eddie Hearn said of Pacheco. “He is 23 years old. Los Angeles is behind him. He is #1 in the world. The world title shot is coming, and it’s going to come soon.”

Hearn gets a little carried away by talking about this being a “coming of age performance by Pacheco. To fit into that category, Pacheco would have to beat one of these talents:

1. Osley Iglesias
2. Christian Mbilli
3. Jaime Munguia
4. Caleb Plant

I don’t see Pacheco beating out only Plant of those four, and even that isn’t a sure thing. If Plant catches Pacheco with one of his weak left hooks, he might knock him out.

“If it’s not Canelo, who would you like to see Pacheco with?” said DAZN commentator Chris Mannix.

“You’re talking about a big event. By the time the mandatory shot against Canelo Alvarez or Edgar Berlanga comes, Diego Pacheco against either of those guys is going to be a massive fight,” Hearn said. “He’s going to be the mandatory for the winner of Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga.”

Munguia will fight Pacheco if it pays, but if he’s with Top Rank, that might not happen. He would be better off working his way back to a rematch with Canelo.