The title has been vacant since Terence Crawford vacated it in December 2025. The sanctioning body ordered the fight between Pacheco and Sheeraz on the 22nd in late December.
Sheeraz has also been ordered to face Christian Mbilli for the vacant WBC super middleweight title. That order actually came before the WBOs, on December 3rd. Unsurprisingly, Hamzah chose not to take on the Mbilli battle.
Given the high volume and infighting style that Mbilli uses, it will be difficult for the tall 6’3′ Sheeraz to handle that type of fighter. UK-born Hamzah is at his best when fighting at medium to long range.
Mbilli wouldn’t let him do that, and would stay in contention the entire fight in the same way Carlos Adames did when he fought Sheeraz. Unless he could find a way to hurt Mbilli by catching him with a big shot before he got close, I believe he will lose the fight. It is therefore understandable why Hamzah (26) and his promoters take up the fight with Diego.
Pacheco looked vulnerable in his last fight against Kevin Lele Sadjo last month on December 13. He spent much of the fight holding Sadjo down whenever he got close, and seemed unable to fight him without using this tactic.
Sadjo dropped Pacheco in the eighth round and hurt him on several other occasions in the fight. That fight showed Pacheco’s vulnerability against fighters with power and hand speed. If he hadn’t clinched as often as he did, there’s an excellent chance he would have been knocked out by Sadjo.
