Hamzah Sheeraz and Diego Pacheco have been granted additional time to come to terms for their ordered WBO super middleweight title fight.
Sanctioning body officials confirmed on Friday that a purse bid hearing previously scheduled for Monday is now designated to take place on January 30. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri informed BoxingScene and other outlets that an extension requested by Matchroom Boxing was not met with any objection by Queensberry Promotions, Sheeraz’s promoter of record.
The additional 11 days can either provide both sides with enough time to finalize the attractive matchup, or allow Sheeraz’s side to further explore a similar offer to challenge for the WBC belt.
England’s Sheeraz, 22-0-1 (18 KOs) is currently in negotiations with Pacheco, 25-0 (18 KOs) for the WBO 168lbs title, as well as with WBC interim titlist Christian Mbilli, 29-0-1 (24 KOs) for the sanctioning body’s vacant full belt.
Sheeraz-Pacheco was initially ordered on December 20, more than two weeks after the WBC already ordered Mbilli-Sheeraz.
This particular matchup appears to be the preferred choice, as it was once teased to land on a
Riyadh Season card. Sheeraz has long ago emerged as a favorite of Turki Alalshikh, far and away the sport’s most influential figure and who has financed Sheeraz’s last four fights.
Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions both maintain an excellent relationship with the group. However, there are a lot of moving parts in its current schedule, particularly with the understandable fallout of a planned March bout involving former two-time heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua.
Sheeraz suffered his first career blemish in 2025, a 12-round draw with WBC 160lbs titlist Carlos Adames last February 22 in Riyadh. The fight turned out to be his last at middleweight. He made a splash in his super middleweight arrival, with a 5th round knockout of Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga last July 12 on the road in Queens, New York.
Pacheco went 3-0 in his 2025 campaign, going the distance in each of his three fights. The journey began with a 12-round, unanimous decision over unbeaten Steven Nelson last January 23 in Las Vegas. He then went through the motions in a dull affair versus Trevor McCumby, whom he outpointed on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
Pacheco capped the year with a hard-fought, decision victory over unbeaten Kevin Lele Sadjo. However, he had to survive a knockdown to prevail in their December 13 DAZN headliner in Stockton, California.
Absent a last-minute agreement being secured, the fight will become eligible to all WBO-registered promoters. A minimum $300,000 purse bid is required to validate the session. The winning amount will be split evenly, 50/50, between the two, or 60/40 in favor of the visiting fighter should the bout land in the other’s home country.
