Pick it: Diego Pacheco vs. Kevin Lele Sadjo
When to Watch: Saturday, December 13 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT)
How to watch: DAZN
Why to Watch: Two undefeated super middleweights meet. The winner will move forward with a stronger claim as a future contender for a title shot at 168lbs.
Diego Pacheco, 24-0 (18 KOs), turned pro at the age of 17. He is now 24 years old, has been stepping up his level of opposition and is ready to see whether he can separate himself from the pack – positioning himself for whenever the post-Canelo, post-Terence Crawford era at 168lbs begins.
Pacheco is ranked third by the WBO, behind only the undisputed champion Crawford, Canelo at No. 1 and Hamzah Sheeraz at No. 2. The resident of Renton, Washington, is also rated 6th by the WBC, 9th by the WBA and 13th by the IBF.
It’s not just the sanctioning bodies Pacheco needs to impress, however. It’s the fans as well, especially after the lack of excitement in his most recent victory, a wide unanimous decision in July against Trevor McCumby. Perhaps that strategic approach was wise given how the aggressive and heavy-handed McCumby gave Caleb Plant a hard fight in 2024. But when it comes to standing out at super middleweight, it helps to be outstanding.
In his two outings before McCumby, Pacheco dispatched Maciej Sulecki with body shots in the sixth round in August 2024 and won a unanimous decision over the 20-0 Steven Nelson this past January.
Sadjo, 26-0 (23 KOs), is a 35-year-old from Cameroon who lives in France. He turned pro at 27 years old but has seemingly not been in a hurry in his initial eight years in the paid ranks, developing gradually against lesser opposition.
For example, Sadjo’s first win of 2025 came in May, when he made short work of the 30-3-1 Habib Ahmed. But Ahmed’s record shows he had also been stopped by Gilberto Ramirez at super middleweight in 2018, Sebastian Fundora down at junior middleweight in 2020, and Ali Izmailov at light heavyweight in February.
Sadjo then returned in August against the 14-9 Martin Ezequiel Bulacio, who didn’t make it past the fourth round. Both the Ahmed and Bulacio bouts took place within the light heavyweight limit.
All of Sadjo’s victories have earned him placements in the sanctioning bodies’ rankings; he is eighth with the WBO, 10th with the WBC and 11th with the IBF. Sadjo had actually been in line for an IBF title eliminator but chose not to go forward with it.
The undercard includes a lightweight bout between Gabriel Flores Jnr, 27-2 (8 KOs), and former 130lbs titleholder Joe Cordina, 18-1 (9 KOs). Former featherweight titleholder Skye Nicolson, 14-1 (3 KOs), in her second bout since losing to Tiara Brown and moving down to 122lbs, takes on Yuliahn Luna Avila, 28-4-1 (4 KOs), who previously held belts at bantamweight and junior featherweight.
Among the unbeaten prospects being featured are junior welterweight Ernesto Mercado, 17-0 (16 KOs), against gatekeeper Antonio Moran, 31-7-1 (21 KOs); and junior featherweight Arturo Popoca Cardenas, 16-0-1 (9 KOs), against Cesar Vaca Espinoza, 19-2-1 (12 KOs).
More Fights to Watch
Thursday, December 11: Alexandre Gaumont vs Ramadan Hiseni (PunchingGrace.com)
The broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (11:30 p.m. GMT).
Gaumont, 13-0 (9 KOs), is a middleweight prospect from Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The 30-year-old will headline in his hometown at the Casino du Lac-Leamy. This is Gaumont’s second fight of 2025. In April, he won a fourth-round TKO against the 13-5-3 Mathis Lourenco.
Hiseni, 21-2-2 (8 KOs), is a 29-year-old from Switzerland. His last visit to Canada saw him fight to a draw with the 12-0 Shamil Khataev in June 2024. Hiseni has gone 3-1 since, with the loss coming in September of last year to the 10-0 Eugeniusz Makarczuk. Hiseni last fought in March, outpointing a 6-6-1 opponent.
The undercard includes the return of light heavyweight contender Imam Khataev, 10-1 (9 KOs), back five months after his debatable split decision loss to David Morrell. Khataev will face Adam Deines, 24-3-1 (14 KOs), whose losses came by decision to Fanlong Meng and via stoppage against Artur Beterbiev and Albert Ramirez.
Friday, December 12: Kubrat Pulev vs. Murat Gassiev (IBA Boxing YouTube page)
The broadcast begins at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (1 p.m. GMT).
Pulev, 32-3 (14 KOs), is the secondary WBA heavyweight titleholder (the division’s true champion, Oleksandr Usyk, has the primary belt). Pulev, a 44-year-old from Bulgaria, was knocked out by Wladimir Klitschko in 2014, disposed of by Anthony Joshua in 2020, and lost a split decision to Derek Chisora in 2022. His three wins since included a decision over Manuel Charr about a year ago.
Gassiev, 32-2 (25 KOs), is a former unified cruiserweight titleholder who’s been at heavyweight for about five years. He’s 6-1 among the big men, dropping a split decision to Otto Wallin in 2023 and picking up a pair of stoppage victories since then against the 18-0 Kem Ljungquist and the 11-1 Jeremiah Milton. Gassiev’s other defeat came against Usyk at 200lbs in the finale of the World Boxing Super Series tournament.
This show is being held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Friday, December 12: Erik Miloc vs. Nahuel Gonzalo Garcia (ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes)
The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight GMT).
Miloc, 10-0 (9 KOs), is a middleweight from Rosario, Argentina, which is where this fight is taking place. The 26-year-old last fought in August, dispatching a 27-13-1 opponent in three rounds.
Garcia, 18-3 (16 KOs), is a 30-year-old from another province in Argentina. He was disqualified for a fight-ending foul in February and then picked up a win in September, shutting out a 4-10-2 foe.
Saturday, December 13: Badou Jack vs. Noel Mikaelyan II (pay-per-view)
The broadcast begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (2 a.m. GMT). The pay-per-view is available for purchase via traditional cable and satellite outlets, Amazon’s Prime Video, PPV.com, Triller TV and Fubo.
Jack, 29-3-3 (17 KOs), and Mikaelyan, 27-3 (12 KOs), meet again with the WBC cruiserweight title on the line following a disputed result earlier in the year. In May, Jack took a narrow majority decision on the undercard of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s win over William Scull. Mikaelyan’s team successfully appealed to the WBC for a rematch.
Jack, 42, previously held a super middleweight title and a secondary belt at light heavyweight before stopping Ilunga Makabu in the 12th round of their February 2023 fight to capture his cruiserweight belt. He went more than two years without defending it, however – and without fighting altogether. Instead, he was named “champion in recess” as he pondered a move to the bridgerweight division.
Mikaelyan, 35, won the vacant WBC title in November 2023 with a third-round TKO of Makabu. But he was unable to defend against Ryan Rozicki in 2024, and Jack wanted to return to the ring. So Mikaelyan and Jack switched places, Jack being reinstated while Mikaelyan became the “champion in recess.”
The show takes place at Ace*Mission Studios in Los Angeles, California.
Saturday, December 13: Jose Salas Reyes vs. Landi Ngxeke (ESPN+)
The broadcast begins at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time (2:30 a.m. GMT).
This fight for the vacant IBF bantamweight title takes place in Mexico City. The belt was one of two that belonged to Junto Nakatani before he moved up to 122lbs. Salas Reyes is ranked third by the IBF while Ngxeke is ranked fourth (the top two spots are vacant).
Salas Reyes, 16-0 (10 KOs), is a 23-year-old from Tijuana, Mexico. In his only other fight this year, he competed at junior featherweight and took an eight-round decision over a 10-6 opponent. Salas Reyes last fought at 118lbs in April 2024, outpointing the 11-3 Luis Guzman Torres
Ngxeke, 16-1-1 (8 KOs), is a 30-year-old from South Africa. His draw came in his professional debut against Phumelele Cafu, who was 1-0 at the time and would go on to become a junior bantamweight titleholder. Ngxeke’s sole defeat came at 115lbs in 2022, when he was stopped in the second round by Jayr Raquinel. Since then he has won seven straight, most recently defeating the 26-2 Eric Gamboa via unanimous decision in June.
Saturday, December 13: Kevin Brown vs. Cletus Seldin (Boxlab Promotions’ YouTube page)
The broadcast begins at 5 p.m. Eastern Time (10 p.m. GMT).
Two WBA-rated junior welterweights – Brown is ranked seventh while Seldin is sixth – headline at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Florida.
That’s where Brown, 8-0 (3 KOs), has been for the entirety of his pro career. The 31-year-old Cuban has won a pair of unanimous decisions this year, defeating the 14-2 Esteuri Suero in April and the 9-2 Juan Meza Angulo in September.
Seldin, 29-1 (23 KOs), is a 39-year-old from New York City. He lost a wide decision to Yves Ulysse in 2017 and has won eight straight since then. Aside from sending Zab Judah into retirement in 2019, Seldin has been plying his trade against journeymen and gatekeepers. In 2017, Seldin tested positive twice for banned performance-enhancing drugs.
The undercard fights include Jasmine Artiga, 14-0-1 (7 KOs), defending her WBA junior bantamweight title against Stephanie Silva, 10-1 (0 KOs); junior middleweight Yoenis Tellez, 10-1 (7 KOs), back for the first time since his August loss to Abass Baraou, taking on Kendo Castaneda, 21-12 (9 KOs); and a battle of light heavyweights Ariel Perez, 8-0 (4 KOs), and Kevin Gustavo Brizuela, 8-2 (6 KOs).
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
