After scoring a unanimous decision over Trevor McCumby, Diego Pacheco is looking towards big fights in the 168lbs division.
The Los Angeles native Pacheco extended his unbeaten record to 24-0 (18 KOs) on Saturday at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. With the victory, Pacheco remains the No. 1-ranked contender with the WBO at super middleweight, leaving him in prime position for a potential title shot for at least one of the belts currently held by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
In his post-fight interview with DAZN reporter Chris Mannix, The 24-year-old Pacheco stopped short of calling out Alvarez, who has a fight coming up with unbeaten star Terence “Bud” Crawford. But Pacheco made it clear that he wants a bigger matchup for his next outing.
“I know there's big fights coming after this,” said Pacheco, who won Saturday by scores of 119-109 on two cards and 120-108 on the third.
“I want anybody in the top 10. I'm closing my way down to a world title. So I feel like the fans in L.A. deserve a hell of a fight against me and anyone in the top 10.”
Pacheco admits that McCumby, 28-2 (21 KOs), was a cagey fighter to contend with, offering praise for the 31-year-old who now makes his home in Glendale, Arizona.
“He's a strong fighter, you know?” Pacheco said. “He has great punches, and I could see him trying to bait me in, throwing certain sticky counter shots. So I had to be ready for those, and I felt like my jab was there all day. So I stayed behind my jab, landed some uppercuts in when I could.
“But Trevor, you're a great fighter – and that's why I chose him to be my opponent, because I knew he would test me.”
The loss is the second straight for McCumby, who was stopped in nine rounds last September by Caleb Plant in a fight in which Plant was knocked down in the fourth round.
Pacheco has been promoted by Matchroom Boxing since turning professional in 2018.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
