Dieogo Pacheco wants to be recognised as a contender rather than a prospect once he knocks out Jack Cullen in their WBO International Super-Middleweight Title showdown at the M&S Bank Arena Liverpool this Saturday March 11, live on DAZN (excluding Australia and New Zealand).
 
The undefeated 22-year-old sensation, who fights in the UK for the first time in his career this weekend, is eager to make a big impression in front of Liverpool fight fans by stopping ‘Little Lever’s Meat Cleaver’ in what will now be the co-headline bout following Callum Smith’s injury.
 
“Jack Cullen I feel is a good opponent, finally someone that the fans know I guess,” said Pacheco. “If I beat him then it’s going to be like, ‘he beat this guy’, and I hope people are going to start believing in me a little bit more.
 
“After I get this win, I do feel that people will start recognizing me more as a contender than a prospect. He’s tall and he has a lot of heart, but I’m a way better fighter than him. I see myself stopping him. He won’t be able to take my power. Once I see the opening, I’ll take it.
 
“I think this fight is really important for my career. It’s really important that I put on a good performance. I wanna knock him out, I wanna stop him. In whatever round it comes in, whether it’s a body shot or a head shot, I just wanna to stop him.”
 
Pacheco trains in Seattle, USA under the guidance of Jose Benavidez Sr alongside the likes of two-time World Champion David Benavidez, who is preparing for a March 25 WBC Interim World Title fight with Caleb Plant, and the Los Angeles youngster says he is feeling the benefits from countless rounds of world class sparring.
 
“I’ve been part of David Benavidez’ last five fights. Every camp here is really tough. It’s good work, it doesn’t get better than this. The first time I ever came down here, David reached out to me on the DMs. It was after my Saudi Arabia fight. He was like, ‘oh I was watching that, you’re really good, do you wanna come down and work with me?’. I was like ‘hell yeah’.
 
“That’s what has gotten me the great wins, the great knockouts – the preparation I’ve been doing. That’s the reason I’m here working with them. There are other great sparring partners in here as well and I’m preparing better than ever for this fight. The sparring doesn’t get better than this so I’m really thankful for that.
 
“Obviously it is really tough, David Benavidez is a really good fighter. Every time I’m in there with him I learn something new. He pushes me more than anyone else. That’s exactly what I need.”