While there have been talks to pair unbeaten super middleweights Diego Pacheco and Christian Mbilli, it is possible that Pacheco will take an alternative route.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, who works with Pacheco, said he had spoken with the WBC, which would like Pacheco-Mbilli to be for the interim WBC title.

“Our issue is we are No. 1 with the WBO,” said Hearn. “And, basically, we’re going to be called for Canelo [Alvarez] in the next six months as mandatory. Probably one more win. So all we’re doing, really, is preparing him [Pacheco] or trying to prepare him for that fight.”

Mbilli, Hearn admits, is “a dangerous fight,” but he also acknowledged the need to step Pacheco up to prepare him for Alvarez.

“We also like the Trevor McCumby fight, who boxed Caleb Plant,” Hearn said. “It’s a really good fight. And we’d love to make the [Edgar] Belanga fight.”

Berlanga has one fight left on his deal with Matchroom, and that is set for March 15 in Orlando, Florida, against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz.

Asked whether he thinks Berlanga will re-sign with him, Hearn said: “I hope so. We didn’t fall out. But within the contract for Canelo, the comeback fight was a small undercard fight. And we tried to make a headline in Puerto Rico, which didn’t work out. So rather than wait, we bolted him on that card. So I wouldn’t say that it was an ideal situation for everybody and everyone was over the moon. But when things calmed down, which they have now, you kind of start saying, ‘OK, what’s next?’ Now it’s like, ‘OK, what are we doing?’”

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.