Diego Pacheco, the rising star of the super-middleweight division, showed his talent on November 18th at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. He duked it out with Marcelo Coceres, a 32-year-old ring veteran who’s known to give his opponents a run for their money. Despite Coceres’ experience, Pacheco landed a show-stopping ninth round knockout.
Pacheco, a youthful and talented boxer, is climbing the ladder, making some serious noise in the division. Coceres, the guy is a seasoned pro, always pushing fighters to their limits. The bout kicked off with Pacheco, towering at 6’4″, using his jab like a maestro to keep his 5’11” rival at bay. He owned the range, peppering Coceres with jabs in round two.
Just when you thought it was all jabs, Pacheco turned up the heat in the second round’s final minute, unleashing a barrage of right hands and a razor-sharp uppercut. Coceres tried to shake things up in the third, aiming for Pacheco’s body, but couldn’t quite hit the mark.
Round four threw in a twist – an accidental headbutt left Pacheco with a cut under his left eye. Coceres, smelling blood, ramped up the pressure in the fifth, landing a couple of heavy left hooks. Fast forward to the seventh, and another headbutt had Pacheco bleeding from his lip. Coceres kept the pressure, but in the eighth, Pacheco came back with a vengeance, landing crisp combos.
The end came in the ninth round, 18 seconds left, and BAM! Pacheco drops a right uppercut from hell, sending Coceres to his knee. Coceres took a knee-count exit, handing Pacheco a knockout win.
This victory marks a stellar year for 22-year-old Pacheco (20-0, 17 KOs), keeping his undefeated streak alive. With 2023 wrapped up, Pacheco’s eyes are set on a tantalizing 2024 opener against another unbeaten fighter.
Enter Edgar Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs), a Puerto Rican powerhouse who burst onto the scene in 2016 with sixteen first-round knockouts in a row. Though he’s been quieter since 2020, he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
Pacheco, who’s been eyeing Berlanga, played it cool in his post-fight interview, not dropping any names. But in the press conference, when prodded about Berlanga, Pacheco was like, “Talk to Eddie; I’m game for the big fights.”
Eddie Hearn, the puppet master behind both Pacheco and Berlanga at Matchroom Boxing, sees a 2024 clash as a potential blockbuster. He knows the fans are craving for it, especially with the classic Mexico vs Puerto Rico boxing rivalry at play.
But hey, this is boxing, where good fights often simmer before they boil over. So, will 2024 serve up this exciting matchup?
