By Ricardo Lezama 
The super middleweight contender, Diego Pacheco, a tall, lanky Mexican from South Central, Los Angeles, California has pulled the coats of everyone in the 168lb division with his decisive KO victory over Marcelo Coceres. Pacheco is no joke in this division – he has consistently been able to display excellent boxing abilities while also possessing KO power in both hands. His recent fight had stanzas in a sense. Pacheco first boxed, then brawled and finished Coceres when he sensed true weakness from his pummeling blows.
Story of the Fight
As we all know, contenders must not only win in boxing, but do so in a way that is multi-faceted and crowd pleasing. For those not possessing true power, boxing can be a difficult sport centering around personality and defense. However, for other styles, the sport is quite rewarding.
Pacheco used the first 4 rounds of the fight to jab judiciously down to the body and the head of a dangerous Coceres, who is known for knocking down Edgar Berlanga for the first time in a professional fight. Marcelo Coceres has long been a legitimate 168lb contender who gave Billy Joe Saunders all he could handle. Although, judging from the KO win from Pacheco, Coceres best days are now past him since the devastation towards the end was a bit much.
Like we said earlier, Pacheco was able to jab and eventually hook to the head of Coceres. As Coceres weakened, a final right uppercut was able to daze Coceres enough for the referee to wave it off after the count.
Lanky Pacheco’s Unique Threat
At 6 foot 2, the jab of Pacheco lets fans appreciate a powerful and consistent boxing technique to ward off even the most formidable puncher. The reach and sound boxing stance are pleasing to the purists and casual.
One cannot help but think that Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn is considering the possibility of facing off Pacheco against Edgar Berlanga. At times, Coceres overhand rights were connecting on Pacheco whose punch resistance is formidable and speaks volumes about his conditioning. However, Berlanga may pose a bigger threat with the same shots.
Trained by Jose Benavidez Sr., Pacheco has added a speedy body jab and the ability to fight “tall” using his reach effectively. Simultaneously, Pacheco can fight small when closing the distance. Both of the styles permit him an excellent amount of defensive posturing, but he fights! That’s what fans can appreciate about his ability; Pacheco’s on-ring vocabulary speaks volumes about needing to both be brave and smart in different stanzas of the fights.
We Need Dynamic Fighters!
Diego Pacheco provides what most boxing fans crave. He is exactly what boxing needs. In light of Shakur Stevenson’s performance, some American boxing commentators still do not concede criticisms against Stevenson’s single digit punch stats, and step back slide technique. These are surely advanced in terms of sheer athleticism. However, why does the fanbase have to appreciate distance and defensive posturing so much, and seemingly, at the expense of offense? To be fair, absolutely brilliant defense is wonderful to watch, but a boxing match is as much a prizefight as a sport, which means that the equivalent of football field goals and basketball free throws in boxing cannot be expected to grow love for the sport during a time in which criticisms abound.