It was a surprise that Diego Pacheco withdrew from the purse bid for a vacant WBO super-middleweight title fight with Hamzah Sheeraz.
There were questions over which route WBO number two Sheeraz would take after also being ordered to face Christian Mbilli for the WBC title. He declined the opportunity to fight for the famous green-and-gold belt and instead opted for a vacant title shot with the WBO number five Pacheco. It was then revealed on January 30 that Pacheco had pulled out of the purse bid. Sheeraz will next fight Alem Begic; BoxingScene’s Jake Donavon reported that the bout will likely take place in Manchester, England, in May.
Matchroom’s chief executive Frank Smith was asked why the 25-0 (18 KOs) Pacheco had turned down the opportunity to fight for a vacant title, and he explained that the 24-year-old is adjusting to recruiting a new management team and having just one contest under his new training team in Los Angeles.
“He’s obviously going through a transition,” Smith told BoxingScene. “He’s got a new management team and I think he’s looking at his training position as well. He’s still very young – he’s 24 years old. He’s got a lot of time in his career to make the right decisions and we’ll be working through that now.
“We want to make a big fight for him next. I think it was about being in the right fight and in the right position to go into a world-title fight, or the big fights, and give him the best possible chance. And I think with everything with his training team and management team, this feels like the right decision.
“But we’re working on a new plan with him now over the next year or so and I’m excited about what the future holds. He’s got a massive future – a huge star potential.”
