By: Sean Crose
Rising super middleweight Diego Pacheco made an impression on Saturday night when he took on Maciej Sulecki in a scheduled 12-round bout in Pacheco’s Southern California home. With a 21-0 record, Pacheco was clearly the center of attention. However, Sulecki, 32-2, was looking to capitalize on a relatively quiet week of boxing by scoring a big upset in front of the DAZN cameras.
Sulecki was aggressive from the start, taking a high stance. Pacheco responded with an effective straight punch – and a long one. Although Sulecki began to attack aggressively again in the second round, Pacheco was able to dominate the round by beating his opponent with accurate straight punches. By the third round, it appeared that Pacheco was able to neutralize Sulecki’s attack by combining his punches with speed and accuracy. However, by the end of the round, Sulecki was trading blows with Pacheco.
The fourth round was a tight affair, with both fighters fighting well. It was a dramatic and exciting episode. The fifth round was as dramatic as the fourth, until Pacheco hurt his opponent. As the seconds ticked down, it looked as though Pacheco might actually stop his opponent before the bell rang. That wasn’t meant to be, but there was no doubt that Pacheco did some real damage. A thunderous body punch in the opening minute of the sixth round knocked Sulecki down – and knocked him out. It was the first time in his career that Sulecki had been stopped.
“I feel great,” Pacheco said afterward. “He came to fight; he came to win; but like I said, he’s never seen anyone like me before.” While it’s unlikely he’ll face current super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez anytime soon, Pacheco said he’s open to “anybody in the top ten.” For now, though, the young Californian is clearly enjoying his latest victory. “I hope you guys enjoy it,” he told the crowd.
