The sanctioning body has already ordered Christian Mbilli and Sheeraz to fight for the vacant WBC 168-lb belt. Fighting Pacheco for his WBC Silver title would be for a lesser title.
If Riyadh Season doesn’t care about the titles, it wouldn’t matter that Sheeraz isn’t fighting for the vacant belt. It’s a winnable fight for him.
Last Saturday night, Pacheco struggled to defeat Kevin Lele Sadjo by a 12-round unanimous decision in Stockton, California.
Knockdown Changed the Fight
Diego was dropped in the eighth round by a left hook from Sadjo, and spent most of the remaining rounds holding onto the shorter fighter to keep from getting put down again. In the 10th round, Pacheco was staggered by a hard shot from Sadjo. From there, he doubled his efforts to hold whenever his opponent came close.
“Him getting knocked down and getting back up, I was highly impressed,” said Tim Bradley on his channel, talking about Diego Pacheco in his win over Kevin Lele Sadjo last Saturday night. “He made a decision to stay close to this guy.”
Holding Became the Strategy
Let me correct Bradley on this comment about Pacheco purposely staying close to Sadjo. That’s not what was happening. The 6’4″ Diego wanted the fight to be on the outside, but the much shorter 5’8″ Sadjo kept walking him down, trying to get in punching range to throw.
When he would get close, Pacheco would hold. He did this all night, and it was clearly part of his game plan to tie Sadjo up.
“He kept tying him up because if he drops his hands and tries to create distance, he’s going to get hit in the process,” said Bradley, putting a positive spin on the excessive holding that Pacheco did.
Pacheco was grabbing Sadjo before he’d get a shot off. He was reaching out and pulling Sadjo in for a clinch. It was no accident. It was the strategy Diego had, and made the fight dull to watch because there was so much holding in each round. It was like watching an octopus grab a fish and bring it inward towards its beak.
Sheeraz Fight Talk Heats Up
“They’re talking about him and Sheeraz. Let’s do it. I don’t know if Eddie Hearn is going to do it,” said Bradley about the news of Riyadh Season being interested in a fight between Hamzah Sheeraz and Pacheco. “Get that big money while they’re trying to offer it to you, Pacheco. This is a fight you can win, too.”
It’s a good fight for Pacheco if he can get it. Hearn spoke after the fight, saying he hoped to get Jaime Munguia as Pacheco’s next opponent. That’s a better match-up for Diego than fighting Sheeraz. If the money is significant for a fight against Hamzah, that would be the logical direction Pacheco should go in.
