Rising super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco looks to reach the upper echelons of his division following a scintillating sixth-round stoppage win on Saturday.
The 23-year-old has largely established himself as a prolific knockout artist, with more than 80 per cent of his 22 victories arriving inside the distance.
Immediately after he dispatched Maciej Sulecki with a brutal body shot, Diego Pacheco welcomed a clash with pound-for-pound star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez among several other names.
The pulverizing puncher is ranked number one with the WBO and could be ordered to face Canelo next year, emerging as the four-weight world champion’s mandatory challenger.
But his promoter, Eddie Hearn, has expressed an interest in keeping him active in the interim, mentioning two fighters in the top 10 super middleweight rankings as potential options.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs Diego Pacheco
One would suspect that Canelo, who defends his three super middleweight world titles against Edgar Berlanga on September 14, is a level or two above Pacheco.
Canelo had a dominant display against Jaime Munguia, comprehensively outpointing his fellow Mexican to retain the jewellery at 168 lbs.
However, Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn sees Pacheco stepping up to the challenge sooner than what most would have expected.
In a post-fight interview with Matchroom Boxing, he said: “The world title shot’s coming, and it’s going to come very soon. When the mandatory gets called, we’re taking it.”
Jaime Munguia vs Diego Pacheco
Shortly after teasing a potential Canelo clash, Hearn flirted with the idea of delivering a mouthwatering matchup before Pacheco’s mandatary position gets called.
He said: “The fight I would love to make is Diego Pacheco against Jaime Munguia. I think that’s a brilliant, brilliant fight. I believe we win that fight all day long.”
Munguia, though, already has his hands full, as he will take on highly-ranked Canadian contender Erik Bazinyan on September 20 in a bid to catapult himself back into the world title scene.
Christian Mbilli vs Diego Pacheco
Unbeaten super middleweight powerhouse Christian Mbilli was also mentioned by Hearn as a possible opponent for his golden boy.
The 29-year-old comes off a pulsating performance over Ukrainian veteran Sergiy Derevyanchenko, showcasing his punch variety coupled with a relentless output.
Should the pair collide, Pacheco would no doubt aim to use his superior length to gain an advantage over his opponent, standing almost eight inches taller.