Diego Pacheco during a media workout before his fight against Maciej Sulecki on August 31, 2024 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Photo credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom.
Diego Pacheco made sure to remember the most important part of the fight week in his hometown this time.
“Yeah, I definitely had to discipline myself to screen calls, not answer every call,” Pacheco told The Ring with a laugh. “I appreciate all the love and support. But this is the time when you just have to lock in, and stay focused.”
The undefeated 23-year-old from Los Angeles’ South Central region is poised for his second local title shot in nine months. Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs) takes on Poland’s Maciej Sulecki in a scheduled 12-round super middleweight bout. DAZN will broadcast their main event this Saturday from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
The event is two fights removed from Pacheco’s previous affair in front of his adoring fans, also against a former title challenger. A ninth round stoppage over Argentina’s Marcelo Coceres came with his interesting moments in the ring, and distractions leading up to fight night.
“It’s been a learning experience over the years,” Pacheco admitted. “But it’s all love and I cherish these opportunities.”
Every opportunity counts when you’re the fighter groomed as the division’s second coming.
The fight against Sulecki (32-2, 12 KOs) is the latest step to fight for his first major title.
Pacheco is currently ranked as The Ring’s no. 4 super middleweight. From an alphabet belt point of view, he is the WBO’s no. 1 contender and no. 4 with both the WBC and IBF.
The paths to those titles currently lead in two directions. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) holds the RING Championship and WBC, WBA and WBO belts. William Scull (22-0, 9 KOs) and Vladimir Shishkin (18-0, 12 KOs) will meet this fall for the vacant IBF title.
Alvarez was the undisputed champion before he relinquished the IBF belt because he refused to face Scull as his mandatory challenger. Before that, there was a backlog of challengers waiting for their shot at the sport’s cash cow.
Among them was David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs), Pacheco’s longtime training stablemate and a former two-time WBC titlist. Benavidez has clearly established himself as the division’s true no. 1 contender, but came up empty in his dogged pursuit of Alvarez. The undefeated boxer is now campaigning at light heavyweight, where he awaits a shot at the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol winner.
Pacheco is already having a tough time getting all the names he wants to face on his way to the rankings. He is aware of a potential similar fate to Benavidez if Alvarez continues to rule the roost once he is in position to compete for the top spot.
That’s what makes moments like this so important. Rather than worrying about what someone else won’t do, focus on what they can achieve. Building your local fan base and becoming the class of your weight division are key and achievable goals.
“Some things are just out of your control,” Pacheco admitted. “I can’t worry about that day coming for me. All I can do is hope I’ve done everything in my power to make sure that happens for me when my day comes. If not, then I will just focus on who it will be against. Not that I won’t face it.”
For now, the primary goal is to give his adoring local fans reason to cheer.
This time the real fighter is in front of him. That was not the case in his first appearance of 2024 – a ten-round victory over Shawn McCalman (15-1, 10 KOs). Their April 6 DAZN headline between undefeated boxers saw one come out victorious and the other content to go round.
“Sulecki is the perfect style for me,” Pacheco insisted. “He’s going to run into a lot of shots.
“He will come to fight, come to win. Unfortunately for him, he will run into Diego Pacheco.”
Sulecki’s only two defeats came at the top level and in his opponent’s hometown. He dropped a competitive and entertaining twelve-round decision to Daniel Jacobs in their April 2018 WBA title eliminator. His only title bid was significantly less competitive, as he was knocked out by then-undefeated WBO middleweight titleholder Demetrius Andrade 14 months later in Providence, Rhode Island.
Four wins have followed since then for the 35-year-old contender who is hitting the road again.
Saturday will be Pacheco’s fifth career fight in the greater LA region. This is his second at the venue known as ‘The War Grounds’ in boxing circles.
Fittingly, his previous appearance came on the undercard of a fighter who is very much a future target – Jaime Munguia.
Such a match in 2025 could be one to usher in a new era in the super middleweight division. Both would have to win their next fights. Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) faces Erik Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) on September 20 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
By then, Pacheco hopes to not only have won by then, but to establish himself as a major draw in a hot market.
“I fought at the War Ground on a Munguia undercard (Sept. 2019) when I was 18 years old,” Pacheco recalled. “I opened the main DAZN card. It was a good feeling. I fought at home, fought on DAZN and got a third round TKO.
“To go back now, headline and put young fighters from my city on the undercard is amazing. I just can’t wait to put on a show and give the people a performance they remember.”
