Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (19-0, 16 KOs) put on a sparkling performance on Friday night, stopping the tough #12 WBO contender Manuel Gallegos (19-2-1, 16 KOs) in the fourth round in the main event on DAZN at the Cintermex, Monterrey, Mexico.
The 22-year-old Pacheco dropped Gallegos with a left to the body followed by a chopping right hand behind the ear as he was falling in round four.
After the 26-year-old Gallegos got back up, Pacheco unleashed a blizzard of punches, driving him across the ring under a hail of fire. The referee Sergio Hernandez finally stepped in and halted the fight to save the hurt Gallegos. The time of the stoppage was at 2:45 of round four.
#12 WBO Gallegos had been attacking Pacheco the entire fight, working his way on the inside in rounds one through three to land body shots and punches upstairs.
However, he paid a heavy price for the pressure because he was getting nailed by huge uppercuts and right hands from #3 WBO, #11 WBA & #12 WBC. At the start of round three, Gallegos sprinted across the ring, immediately attacking Pacheco but took massive shots in close.
After the fight, Pacheco’s promoter Eddie Hearn spoke about wanting to bring him back against a top 15 caliber opponent later this year at super middleweight.
Hearn said that Pacheco wants Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia, but those fights will need to wait until 2024.
Eddie Hearn: “We’ll be looking for a top 15 opponent; Diego talks about the likes of Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia – those are big fights for 2024. I want to finish the year with a big performance in LA against a credible 168-pounder.”
The reality is that Pacheco is probably too dangerous to be given the opportunity to fight Berlanga or Munguia. Berlanga is looking for a big-money fight against Canelo Alvarez, and Munguia also wants fights that will pay. Pacheco isn’t a big star yet, so he’s going to need to create his own path.
“He went to the body, and he got the job done,” said Gabriel Rosado to DAZN about Diego Pacheco’s knockout of Gallegos.
“That was scary power and accuracy from Diego Pacheco,” said Corey Erdman. “I don’t know too many fighters around the age of Pacheco that have made the kinds of improvements that he’s made over the last four fights or so.
“We called one of his fights in Mexico, and he got rocked by a journeyman in that fight. Now, four fights later, he looks like an entirely different athlete in there in terms of his body composition and in terms of how he’s throwing his punches. He’s just a whole new fighter.
“He’s showing that he’s dedicated, and he’s really taking his craft seriously, but now,” said Rosado. “Not only that. He has a great trainer in his corner in [Jose] Benavidez, and he has a great camp with him.
“Sparring guys like [David] Benavidez and things like that. So he’s improving. He’s around a great circle of fighters and great minds, and he’s learning a lot.”
“I think what we’ve seen is the Benavidez camp has taken what Pacheco is naturally good at, his natural tools and length, want he did good instinctively, and they’ve added a bit of edge to it. We saw that here tonight,” said Erdman.
“There was an instinct that he was searching for that knockout from start to finish.”
“Props to Benavidez and his team. Diego looked great,” said Rosado.
“Your shot selection looked great,” said Matchrroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn to Pacheco after the fight. “You took some shots as well, but you took them well.”
“Yeah, Diego took some shots, but he showed that he has a chin, and you have to have a chin to be a champion,” said Rosado.
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Federico Pacheco Jr TKO3 Oscar Heredia