Diego Pacheco’s Canelo Alvarez Callout Ignored as Jaime Munguia Eyed for Next Fight by Eddie Hearn

WBC USA super middleweight champion Diego Pacheco wants big fights after defeating Maciej Sulecki in the sixth round last night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. However, his promoter Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn has other ideas—according to Jake Donavan, a senior writer at Ring Magazine.

You see, after defeating Sulecki, Pacheco, now the No. 1 ranked contender under WBO, is the mandatory challenger for the winner of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight, scheduled for September 14th in Las Vegas. To add a cherry on top, the 23-year-old even called out Canelo after his fight last night. However, Hearn feels there should be a fight in the middle, and Hearn feels the best fit is Jaime Munguia.

Jaime Munguia’s exit from GB Promotions entices Eddie Hearn

After last night’s fight concluded, Donavan took to X to share Hearn’s statement with his followers. According to him, Hearn revealed, “[Munguia-Pacheco] sells out Crypto(dot)com Arena. My relationship with @OscarDeLaHoya is sometimes hit & miss. But as we know, Jaime Munguia left Golden Boy. And he’s now with Top Rank. So maybe that’s a fight that can get made.”

It’s worth noting that Jaime Munguia is coming off a loss to Canelo in May. Regardless, he has signed a multi-fight co-promotional deal with Top Rank and will be fighting Erik Bazinyan in Phoenix on September 20th. Munguia fought his last 16 fights under Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions with Zanfer Promotions co-promoting. 

Now, it seems he has the same setting with Top Rank as well, going into his next fight. While facing Munguia can be a risky endeavor for Pacheco because of Munguia’s experience, Hearn believes Munguia is exactly the sort of opponent for Pacheco that will prepare him for the big fight when the Canelo vs. Berlanga fight produces a winner. 

However, the question is, what happens if those fights don’t end up happening? What are the options left for Pacheco?

Diego Pacheco reveals three-man hit list

Diego Pacheco, the rising star in the super middleweight division, had named his three-man hit list ahead of his fight against Maciej Sulecki. With an unbeaten record of 22-0 (18 KOs), Pacheco is eager to take on top contenders to cement his status in the division.

“There’s Mbilli, Berlanga, Bazinyan; there’s a lot of good fighters out there that I would face, and I’m ready for any of them,” Pacheco stated, signaling his readiness to face the best in the division. 

Pacheco, currently ranked number one with the WBO and #4 on both the WBC and IBF, believes that as he continues to win, these fights will become inevitable. “In five years from now I’ll be ruling the 168lb division, unifying it and ultimately becoming undisputed,” Pacheco confidently predicted.

That said, Diego Pacheco will have to wait further to get his dream fight against Canelo Alvarez to collect the three belts. Meanwhile, whether Munguia would agree to face Pacheco is yet to be seen. Who do you think the 23-year-old should fight first?