Promoter Eddie Hearn wants Jaime Munguia to fight Diego Pacheco next following his win over the always tough Maciej Sulecki last Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Munguia’s price tag may be too steep
It’s unclear if Hearn wants Munguia because he could potentially put a fight between him and Pacheco. DAZN PPV to help with the financial costs of putting this game together. Even if it is put on PPV, Munguia will want a guaranteed purse that may be out of Hearn’s price range.
Hearn thinks a fight between Pacheco and Munguia would easily sell out the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. However, it is doubtful whether Hearn can raise enough money to interest Munguia in this fight.
Hearn sided with the $2.2 million prize that WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. wanted, to meet for a unification clash against Hearn-promoted IBF champion Jaron Boots Ennis.
Hearn beat Norman Jr. Offered $1.75 million and wouldn’t go higher. It was surprising as Hearn sounded so keen on Boots’ potential when he signed him to Matchroom, but so far he has not shown a willingness to invest in his future.
What was surprising is how Hearn made a big deal about Norman Jr. who did not agree to his offer of $1.75 million. He talked like it was a lot of money.
If Hearn can’t come up with the money Munguia wants, Pacheco won’t fight him. Munguia is a different kind of fighter than the guys that Hearn picked for him. He’ll want more money, and Hearn won’t encourage him to take the fight if he’s not willing to offer at least $5 million or more.
Alternative options for Pacheco:
– Bektemir Melikuziev
– Erik Bazinyan
– Rohan Murdock
– Zach Parker
– Kevin Lele Sadjo
– Sergiy Derevyanchenko
– Vladimir Shishkin
The above fighters should be more affordable for Hearn if he is dealing with financial constraints to limit what he can offer to less than $2 million for Pacheco’s next opponent.
“It’s very unusual to have a fighter at that age, this good, 23-0 in the world, and I think he’s got a massive future ahead of him,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV YouTube channel, talking about Diego Pacheco.
The performance by Pacheco against the 35-year-old Sulecki (32-3, 12 KOs) was out of this world. Pacheco looked decent against a fighter long in the tooth, but he was far from great to stop the Polish fighter with a body shot in the sixth round.
Hearn needs to be realistic about Pacheco’s future as he has not shown the talent that would suggest he will take over as the #1 fighter at 168 after Canelo Alvarez retires. Other young fighters would beat Pacheco and make it look easy. Guys like Osleys Iglesias and Christian Mbilli would destroy Pacheco.
“I think Munguia is the perfect fight. You have Munguia, a Mexican fighter with great support,” Hearn said. “You have Diego Pacheco; there was a good atmosphere there tonight. It easily sells out the Staples Center, and it’s such a good fight. A tough fight for Diego.”
Munguia’s camp would likely disagree
Even if Hearn can come up with the money Munguia wants for a fight with Pacheco, it’s a matchup his promoters at Top Rank probably won’t agree to. Why would they? Munguia lost his last fight against Canelo on May 4, and he needs to rebuild. They’re not going to beat Munguia against Pacheco, especially if everyone is giving Hearn a lowball offer, hoping he can get him cheap.
“I’m really looking forward to it, but it has to be that kind of fight, because we (Pacheco) are going to call the winner of Canelo-Berlanga as the mandatory. We appreciate that this will only happen in September 2025. It is a year’s time. So that’s two more fights, which is good. It’s perfect timing because when it comes, we don’t turn it down. You have to take it,” Hearn said.
Pacheco will likely get a title shot against unified super middleweight champion Canelo in 2025, but he won’t be ready for that fight. There is too much of a talent gap between Canelo and Pacheco for the 23-year-old Diego to be ready for that fight by next year.
“So, someone like Munguia would be absolutely perfect for the development of Diego Pacheco,” Hearn said.
