An attractive matchup between Hamzah Sheeraz and Diego Pacheco is the preferred fight among all parties involved, including its intended financier.
However, a deal was not reached in time and is now headed to a January 19 purse bid hearing, WBO officials confirmed on Monday. The 20-day deadline assigned to the ordered vacant 168lbs title fight has expired without the two sides being able to come to an agreement.
“As the parties have been unable to reach an agreement within the allotted time, the (WBO) will proceed with purse bid proceedings, in accordance with its regulations,” WBO president Gustavo Olivieri informed the media. “Official date, time & venue to be announced.”
The fight was initially ordered on December 20. Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom Boxing were notified on behalf of Sheeraz and Pacheco, respectively. Both are the two highest rated WBO contenders with former four-division champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez still recovering from surgery and unavailable until at least May.
The order came as Sheeraz, 22-0-1 (18 KOs), was similarly instructed to enter talks with WBC interim titlist Christian Mbilli, 29-0-1 (24 KOs), for its vacant full title.
The undefeated 26-year-old British-Pakistani contender is also highly rated with the IBF and next in line to be offered a shot at its available title.
Simply put, Sheeraz is in high demand and his team is clearly weighing all options before deciding their next move.
That said, the matchup was once teased to head to a Riyadh Season card, as Sheeraz is a favorite of Turki Alalshikh, the most influential figure (by far) in the sport today. Matchroom Boxing has also become the promoter du jour for its recent events and has – along with Queensberry – maintained an excellent relationship with the group.
None of that seemed to work favorably in terms of finalizing this fight.
While Sheeraz is ranked in the top 5 among all four major sanctioning bodies, Pacheco’s insistence on going the WBO route has dropped him outside that purview with the other groups. The unbeaten 24-year-old from South Central Los Angeles was previously in position to challenge for the WBC and IBF belts given his lofty rating. His team, however, favored the WBO where he was already in position for an opportunity such as this.
Pacheco had an odd 2025 campaign, where he went 3-0 but failed to further enhance his place among the division’s best as he went the distance on all three occasions.
The year began with a hard-fought, unanimous decision win over unbeaten Steven Nelson last January. Pacheco dug deep to pull away in the later rounds, though the win subsequently lost its luster when Nelson was knocked out in the first round just one fight later.
Lackluster performances in wins over Trevor McCumby and unbeaten Kevin Lele Sadjo were heavily criticized by fans and media alike. Still, Pacheco remains among the best super middleweights in the world.
Absent a last-minute agreement being secured, the boxers will await further instructions from the WBO. All promoters currently registered with the sanctioning body are eligible to participate in the purse bid hearing, with a minimum $300,000 bid required to validate the session. The winning bid will be split 50/50 if the fight lands in a neutral location; otherwise, 60/40 in favor of the boxer who has to visit the other's home country.
