Promoter Eddie Hearn was pleased with the performance of unbeaten super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (20-0, 17 KOs) after watching him dispatch the always-tough Marcelo Coceres (32-6-1, 18 KOs) in the ninth round with a beautiful uppercut to head last Saturday night at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.
Hearn says he’d like to give the 22-year-old Pacheco a step up from Coceres in his next fight, and he would like to match him against the unbeaten Edgar Berlanga in 2025.
A fight between the 26-year-old Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) and Pacheco might not be realistic next year, as Edgar inked with Matchroom to get the big fights against Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia. Hearn says Berlanga wants those two popular fighters next.
Berlanga would likely balk at the idea of fighting Pacheco if Hearn were to ask him to take that fight. He might see it as Hearn using him as a name for Pacheco to become a star.
Berlanga’s last five fights:
- Jason Quigley – UD 12
- Roamer Alexis Angulo – UD 10
- Steve Rolls – UD 10
- Marcelo Coceres – UD 10
- Demond Nicholson – UD 8
As you can see, the knockouts that Berlanga used to chalk up have disappeared, and he’s now forced to go the distance against fighters that talented super middleweights would likely destroy. That’s not a good sign.
The way that Berlanga has looked in his last five fights, he would have problems going up against a tall knockout artist like Diego Pacheco. Berlanga hasn’t knocked out anyone since 2020 and has looked vulnerable recently.
Coceres dropped Berlanga in the ninth round of their fight in 2021. Granted, this was a younger, better version of Coceres than the one we saw last night against Pacheco, but still, he gave Edgar massive trouble.
In Berlanga’s other recent bouts, he struggled to beat Jason Quigley and Steve Rolls, getting hit a lot in both contests. Rolls came close to beating Berlanga.
Pacheco ready for a step up
“I think that’s a massive fight in 2024. Of course, Edgar wants the big names if you like. The Munguia’s and obviously the Canelo Alvarez’s, but if Diego keeps winning, he’ll put himself right in contention,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing when asked about his interest in pitting Diego Pacheco against Edgar Berlanga at super middleweight.
Berlanga commented on social media last night about Pacheco’s fight with Coceres, saying that he would have knocked out Marcelo in the second round if he fought the same way. He makes a good point. The 32-year-old Coceres looked like a shell of the fighter that Berlanga fought, showing no speed, punch accuracy, or confidence.
“He’s #3 with the WBO, and I think he’s top ten with every governing body [at 168]. If you’re looking for opponents, why not Diego Pacheco? He [Pacheco] needs a big name next. We had a nice crowd in here,” said Hearn.
“This is going to continue to grow in Los Angeles. He’s a very popular man in South Central, and after that performance tonight, you’re going to see the crowd continue to grow. We’re going to do a big building job on him in 2024 to put him in a position to fight for a world championship in 2025. That’s the plan.
“Obviously, Canelo has them [the titles at 168] all at the moment, but in time, when he retires or moves or doesn’t fight mandatories, his belts are going to free up. Diego is so well-positioned across the governing bodies to challenge for them, particularly with the WBO,” said Hearn.
Hearn will need to match Pacheco carefully
The main problem that Pacheco will have trying to win a title once Canelo retires or vacates them is dealing with David Benavidez & David Morrell.
Those guys are on another level to Pacheco, and he won’t beat either of them with the way he fought last night. Benavidez will be forced to move up to 175 soon, so he won’t be a problem, but Morrell will still be there at 168.
It’ll end badly for Pacheco if he fights Morrell because he’s clearly not on that guy’s level, and you can argue that neither is Benavidez.
“We’re not in a terrible rush with Diego Pacheco. As you said, the matchmaking was perfect tonight. Now, we need a step up from Coceres. They’re not many steps. There’s probably one or two steps before you get to the world champions, and I think that works perfectly for us timing-wise,” said Hearn.
I wish coceres would of fought me how he’s fighting Pacheco. I would of put that dude out in 2 rounds !!!!!!! BIG FUCKING FACTS
— Edgar Berlanga Jr (@EdgarBerlangaJr) November 19, 2023
