By Francisco Salazar

Middleweight prospect and former amateur standout Diego Pacheco believes the best is yet to come.

Pacheco knocked out Guillermo Maldonado in the opening round this past Friday night at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Pacheco overwhelmed Maldonado (1-1), dropping the Seattle resident twice, the last with a one-two combination to the head that dropped Maldonado to the canvas.

Referee Jerry Cantu immediately stopped the bout at 1:46.

Pacheco, who resides in nearby South Central Los Angeles, fought be a vocal, partisan crowd that cheered his every move Friday night.

“(It was an) amazing experience fighting before my hometown crowd in my U.S. debut,” Pacheco told BoxingScene after the fight. “It couldn’t have been any better. I tried to be patient, but I saw right away that I was hurting him with every punch I was hitting him with. I jumped on him and I got him out of there.”

Pacheco (3-0, 2 knockouts) is eager to return to the ring. That may not be a problem as Matchroom Boxing, which signed Pacheco to a promotional deal, has numerous dates on DAZN, which streamed Pacheco’s fight against Maldonado.

Pacheco fought his first two bouts in Tijuana, both at the age of 17, but is ready to fight often in Southern California, across the United States, or abroad.

“I want to come back to fight as soon as possible. I felt good. I only fought for about half-a-round. My body feels good and my hands feel good. I could go again next weekend.”

Even at the age of 18, Pacheco has the maturity to analyze improvements he can make in the ring. Pacheco stands 6’4”, has a long reach, and he works behind a steady jab.

Pacheco would like to let his hands go consistently.

“I want to work on committing on throwing punches instinctively in a fight. I let my hands go in the gym, but when I’m fighting, it feels different. I’d like to work on that. I would like to work on that more in sparring.”

Aside from being promoted by Matchroom, Pacheco is managed by David McWater and Tim VanNewhouse. Together, along with his trainers and family, Pacheco believes he has a bright future in the sport.

“Whatever fights they give me, my job is to be prepared and fight. I’m ready for whatever my manager thinks I’m ready for.”

“I’m amazing. Everybody at Matchroom, my management team, my coaches all support me. It couldn’t be any better."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene.com since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing