Paulie Malignaggi believes undefeated 168lb contender Diego Pacheco’s performance against Maciej Sulecki this Saturday night could factor into his chance to next challenge Canelo Alvarez for his three super middleweight titles.
(Credit: Matchroom Boxing: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
Pacheco’s performance is the key
Malignaggi says it could come down to how Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs) looks against the veteran Sulecki (32-2, 12 KOs) in their fight. If Pacheco, 23, looks vulnerable to win, it could help him to be picked by Canelo as he believes the Mexican star only wants non-threats. If Pacheco looks too good, he won’t be picked by Canelo.
Matchroom-promoted Pacheco will face Sulecki, 35, in a 12-round headliner on August 31 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Los Angeles. The event will be shown live on DAZN starting at 7:30 PM ET.
Malignaggi feels that Canelo would want to fight Pacheco before he improves. In other words, he would fight him before he got really good, the same way Floyd Mayweather Jr. cherry-picked him in 2013 when Canelo was just 22 years old and not the fighter he had developed into. That version of Canelo probably would have knocked Mayweather out cold.
“Pacheco didn’t impress me in his last fight. He had a smaller guy (6’0″ Shawn McCalman) in there, very athletic who was able to dart in and dart out on him,” boxing expert Tim Bradley told the Probox TV. YouTube channel, talking about whether Diego Pacheco would be a threat to unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
He got off to a slow start in Pacheco’s last fight against McCalman, but once he figured out his style, he dominated the second half. McCalman’s hand speed and dive gave Pacheco problems early. Pacheco looked good in the fight, firing beautiful four punch combinations with power and controlling the fight.
“His feet seemed a little slow. He seemed to be out of sorts in sports,” Bradley continued about the 23-year-old Pacheco. “I thought: ‘He’s not ready yet.’ So, calling his name at Canelo, absolutely not. Canelo would run through him. He (Pacheco) could be at 175 in two or three years. He is 23 years old. He will probably outgrow the weight class.”
Pacheco was slow compared to McCalman, but his hand speed was actually pretty good. McCalman had very quick hands and surprisingly good power. McCalman would give problems to many fighters in the division, including Christian Mbilli and Caleb Plant.
“In a few years, Pacheco will be dangerous, but if he (Canelo) fights him now, it’s a Canelo fight all day,” says Chris Algieri.
Canelo’s preference for non-threats
“Pacheco is scary at 168. He’s a big 168, just like David Benavidez. He probably has all the tools that a guy like Canelo doesn’t want to look like he has,” said Paulie Malignaggi. “I think it will come down to how he looks against Sulecki. I think it’s going to be a lot about whether he gets consideration or not,” says Malignaggi about whether Pacheco will be chosen for Canelo’s next opponent.
Pacheco is now dangerous to anyone in the super middleweight division because of his size, power and combination punch. I’d pick him to beat Caleb Plant, and he could potentially beat Mbilli.
