By: Sean Crose
“A win gets me closer to that goal,” said Diego Pacheco, the rising super middleweight talent who faces Maciej Sulecki this weekend in Los Angeles. “If I can do that, hopefully I’ll get to fight someone in the top 10 with me, and then it becomes mandatory for one of the titles and next year, get a world title shot. I don’t feel like I have to show anything specific. People have seen that I can knock people out, that I can hurt people, I can take people down with my hooks, hurt people with my straights. It’s more important to win and look good, that’s what I train for, no extra pressure.”
Indeed, the 23-year-old Pacheco was brave enough to mention opponents he would like to face in the future without even having fought Sulecki. “There’s Mbilli, Berlanga, Bazinyan; there are so many good fighters out there that I would like to face and I’m ready for any of them. It’s hard for those guys to fight me because they think I’m just a kid who hasn’t done much in the sport. But one fight at a time, they’re getting to the point where they can’t deny me anymore and those fights are going to have to be made, and I have a promoter in Eddie Hearn and Matchroom who are booking those fights, so when the time is right, I’ll put them all together.
The super middleweight division is hot right now, and it’s dominated by none other than Canelo Alvarez. However, the red-haired star is reportedly set to retire from boxing soon. That opens up plenty of opportunities for hungry young fighters like Pacheco, a man with nothing but confidence. “I think in five years I’ll dominate the 168lb division,” he says, “unify it and eventually become undisputed, that’s my goal. I want to dominate, keep the momentum going, keep knocking people out and keep the fans entertained.”
Before anything can be decided, however, Pacheco will have to overcome Sulecki this weekend at Dignity Health Sports Park in a fight that will be streamed live on the streaming service DAZN. And, while Pacheco is getting a lot of attention this week, almost anything can happen in boxing.
