Diego Pacheco hits like a ton of bricks, and Maciej Sulecki found that out firsthand on Saturday night in Carson, California at the Dignity Health Sports Park.
The undefeated, 23-year-old super middleweight contender ran his record to a perfect 22-0 with 18 KOs as he destroyed Sulecki with a nasty left hook to the body. Sulecki was given a chance to recover, but he could not beat the 10-count.
Take a listen to DAZN color commentator Sergio Mora’s call for the body shot seconds before Pacheco unleashed the punch that crumpled his opponent.
Mora has worked several Pacheco fights, and this isn’t the first time he’s been especially on point with his calls and analysis during the young Mexican fighter’s bouts.
During Pacheco’s scrap with Marcelo Coceres, Mora called the latter’s tendency to throw shots “behind the head” of Pacheco–meaning the veteran Argentinian fighter was aiming for the area his opponent’s head would be as he attempted to dodge the punches.
Pacheco mentioned Coceres’ strategy in an exclusive interview with me a few days before his fight with Sulecki.
According to Ben Chan of CompuBox: “Pacheco landed 49% of his power punches, and only 5 of the 42 power punches he landed were body shots.” That explains Mora calling for Pacheco to make that more of a focus in his attack.
The definitive body shot Pacheco threw ended Sulecki’s night. Pacheco came into the fight ranked No. 4 by Ring Magazine at 168 pounds. He is the WBO’s No. 1 contender, ranked No. 4 by the IBF and WBC, and No. 14 by the WBA.
His No. 1 ranking with the WBO could position him as a mandatory challenger for Canelo Alvarez later this year–assuming the latter successfully defends his titles against Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. If Pacheco doesn’t get Canelo Alvarez in his next fight, he could face Christian Mbili or Jaime Munguia.
The winner would be positioned to fight for the unified titles or a share of the 168-pound crown. I spoke with Pacheco’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, who mentioned that option for his fighter, assuming he beat Sulecki impressively.
Pacheco scored the kind of statement victory that will grab the attention of fighters and other promoters. It could land him on an upcoming Riyadh Season card, more than likely in December or the first quarter of 2025.
The 168-pound division is suddenly getting pretty interesting with Pacheco and Mbili emerging as potential challengers for Canelo in 2025.
