LAS VEGAS – Diego Pacheco’s ascension to a title fight couldn’t have been scripted any better.
And as a Friday purse bid looms for his WBO super-middleweight title fight versus Hamzah Sheeraz, Pacheco has made a move to ensure he’s properly advised and effectively represented.
South Central Los Angeles’ Pacheco 25-0 (18KOs) tells BoxingScene he’s retained Sheer Sports Management to help him navigate his turn to potential free agency after years with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
“Diego represents everything we look for in a fighter: discipline, maturity and elite-level talent,” Sheer Sports CEO Ken Sheer told BoxingScene. “Our responsibility is to manage his career with intention and precision as he continues his path toward becoming a world champion.”
Pacheco, 24, fought two main events and one co-main for Matchroom on DAZN in 2025, defeating Steven Nelson, Trevor McCumby and Kevin Lele Sadjo each by unanimous decision.
The campaign moved Pacheco to the title fight precipitated by undisputed champion Terence Crawford’s December retirement, but it left something to be desired from those who watched, and from Pacheco himself.
Nelson going the distance, and then getting knocked out in the first round one fight later looked bad, and Sadjo dropped Pacheco.
Vowing to fulfill the promise others have projected from the 6-feet-4 fighter with a 79-inch reach, Pacheco sees the timing of his situation as all the incentive he’ll need.
The purse bid process has the potential to become a lucrative affair given that Sheeraz, a favorite fighter of Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh, is promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. Matchroom’s interest is expected if it plans to extend Pacheco, and there’s also the fact that Dana White’s new promotion Zuffa Boxing is eager to collect champions and elite contenders.
“I’m excited about the future,” Pacheco told BoxingScene. “I made a decision for the best of my career moving forward. I felt I was in need of a good management team that was going to back me up in every decision. I’m there, ready to fight for a world title, so I felt it was time to get with a team that would be my team for the rest of my career and be one I can achieve great things with.
“For me, it’s a dream come true to fight for a world title, and it’s been a long journey since I started this at 10 years old. I’m here now. I can’t put into words how much this means to me. I’m motivated to take care of business and become a world champion.”
Pacheco explained his purse money over the 2025 bouts was pre-negotiated between himself and Matchroom.
“I didn’t have management [because] there was nothing to negotiate with Matchroom, it was already set,” he said. “Now that the opportunity is there for a world title, I decided to get a good team behind me to make sure they’re taking care of me and looking over all my stuff.”
The 26-year-old Sheeraz, 22-1-1 (18 KOs), is coming off a summer knockout of former super-middleweight title challenger Edgar Berlanga.
Pacheco has watched Sheeraz’s recent bouts closely, particularly his February draw with WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames, whom Pacheco sparred with in preparation for that bout.
“I was in camp with Adames and we got great work together – 12 rounds straight. Dog work,” Pacheco said. “So I saw that fight, saw the fight [Sheeraz] had with [Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams], and the Berlanga fight. I like his style, feel he’s a good boxer. I feel I’m a better boxer and feel I’ll show that when we get together in the ring.”
Pacheco witnessed Alalshikh racing to Sheeraz’s corner late in the Adames fight, apparently advising him of the television scoring showing Sheeraz was trailing in the bout. Still, that favored-son status doesn’t bother Pacheco from traveling out of the U.S. for the fight, which he expects to occur by the summer.
“Yeah, [Sheeraz] 100 percent [is favored], but I still like my chances,” Pacheco said. “[The fight] can go to Saudi, U.K., I don’t mind it going anywhere.”
He heads to the bout committed to improve in training from the mixed results of 2025.
“The best thing about it was getting that experience. I was in there with some good fighters. For me to get those quality rounds will benefit me going forward,” Pacheco said.
“The experience of the different styles is so important. And I decided to leave training in Washington [with Jose Benavidez Snr] and come back to L.A. Having my team here, I’m trying to be better everyday.
“Sheer Sports has a clear vision for my career and believes in my long-term potential. This is about alignment, growth and putting the right team around me as I chase a world championship.”
