Notebook: Pacheco stops Gallegos in 4th round of stellar performance
With Stanionis-Ortiz off, Schofield in spotlight; Usyk-Dubois official; details on Aug. 12 Showtime card; BetUS show; Muratalla fight set; Thompson Boxing ending run; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Super middleweight Diego Pacheco continued his maturation from rising prospect to emerging contender as he hammered Manuel Gallegos into a one-sided fourth-round knockout in the main event of the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN on Friday night in Monterrey, Mexico.
Pacheco, who signed a contract extension with Matchroom Boxing in May, looked sharp in his first fight of the new deal to set up a homecoming main event in Los Angeles in the fall.
First, Pacheco (19-0, 16 KOs), 22, had to get through Gallegos (19-2-1, 16 KOs), 26, of Mexico, who had never been previously stopped.
Pacheco attacked Gallegos to the body and landed many hard head shots and combinations. Late in the fourth round, Pacheco broke though when he dug a left hook to Gallego’s body that dropped him to all fours.
Gallegos rose at the count of seven and Pacheco began to tee off when the fight resumed. He unloaded about a dozen punches, landing most of them, and forced Gallegos to the ropes as referee Sergio Hernandez stepped in to wave off the scheduled 10-rounder at 2 minutes, 45 seconds
When it was over, Pacheco was pleased with his performance, as he should have been.
“I think that’s one of my best performances to date,” Pacheco said. “He was a tough guy and put me under pressure from the opening round, but I knew he would do that and I was well prepared. He took some tough shots, but he couldn’t take that last body shot. I just want everyone in the division. I’m only 22. I’ve got time to fight them all, so Eddie Hearn will line them up, so let’s get it.”
Asked what kind of statement he thought he made with the near-flawless showing, Pacheco said, “I’m just that guy. Every fight I’m getting better, I’m getting wiser, I’m getting stronger. The opposition is getting better, but that’s just raising the level of my performance and you are going to keep seeing that.
“It feels great to watch my brother (heavyweight Federico Pacheco Jr.) open the show (with a second-round knockout of Oscar Heredia) and get that opportunity. It’s amazing. The sky is the limit for us. We’re going to keep working hard, stay grounded and keep pushing until we get to where we want to be.”
Pacheco will continue with a hometown main event this fall, something he has wanted.
“It’ll be a dream come true to headline in LA. I keep putting in the work to get things like that come my way,” Pacheco said. “Every time I fight in LA the fans come out and show me love. I haven’t fought there since 2019, so I know that it will be an amazing night.”
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who signed Pacheco out of the amateurs, has watched him mature and was also impressed with how he took apart Gallegos.
“That was such a good performance,” Hearn said. “We’ve been watching this young man grow since he was 17 years of age and we’re so proud of him. It was a small ring in here. Gallegos is a big super middleweight. He’s strong and has a great chin. It was the composure, shot selection. We knew the chin was like granite. He worked him to the body, chopped him down. This young man is going all the way.
“This young man has headlined against a Brit in England, against a Mexican in Mexico. Next, it’s time to go to Los Angeles. He’s the future of the super middleweight division. (Trainer) Jose Benavidez Sr. is doing an unbelievable job. It’s a joy to watch and you are looking at the future.”
While Pacheco isn’t quite ready yet, Hearn fancies eventual fights for him against the Matchroom-promoted and undefeated Puerto Rican Edgar Berlanga and the Golden Boy-promoted and undefeated former junior middleweight titlist Jaime Munguia, of Mexico, who also fights on DAZN.
“Those are big fights for 2024,” Hearn said. “I want him to finish the year with a big performance in LA against a credible 168-pounder.
“We’ve still got to do the right job and we’ll listen to Jose about how he is moved, but what I saw in there, a guy under pressure from a big 168-pounder in a 16-foot ring and the composure, the movement, the shot selection; he took a few as well, and you always want to see a fighter take a shot with those 10-ounce gloves on. I am so excited about this young man, one of the first fighters that we signed when we came to America. I’m 100 percent sure he will be a world champion.”
Show goes on
After welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. was ruled out of his mandatory shot at WBA “regular” titlist Eimantas Stanionis because he passed out during a training session and had to be hospitalized Wednesday night, Golden Boy and DAZN made the decision to go forward with the card on Saturday on DAZN (8 p.m. ET) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
The fight between lightweight prospect Floyd Schofield and Haskell Rhodes was moved from the co-feature into the main event and both fighters were appreciative that the card was not canceled.
“It's a blessing to be the main event,” Schofield said. “Everybody is coming up to me now, ‘Oh, now you’re the main event,’ so you know, I gotta do what I got to do. Hearing that, I know I have to make a statement. I was training just as hard as if I was the main event from the beginning, so Saturday night I am going to make a statement. “Thank you for not canceling this fight and my best wishes to Vergil Ortiz.”
Schofield (14-0, 11 KOs), 20, of Austin, Texas, will be facing his most notable opponent in Rhodes (28-4-1, 13 KOs), 35, of Las Vegas, an experienced fighter, who has Jason Sosa, Edner Cherry and Sergey Lipinets but lost to each of them.
“Just like Schofield, we’ve been training just like we’re the main event to compete against the whole card to steal the show,” said Rhodes, who won a fight in March, which ended a 3½-year layoff. “But I do want to say thanks to Golden Boy and everyone for keeping the show going and also to Floyd for taking the fight with me to put me in this position.
“I know he’s super talented, but I’ve seen a lot like him, and I’m used to styles like his, so I bring the experience and I’m ready. I know I have learned some lessons that have helped me straighten out my life because there are some fights I shouldn’t have lost. So this fight is going to get a fire from me that he’s not expecting.”
Also on the card:
Former junior lightweight titlist Joseph Diaz Jr. (32-4-1, 15 KOs), 30, of Downey, California, will face Jerry Perez (14-2-1, 11 KOs), 30, of Oak Hills, California, in a 10-round junior welterweight bout.
WBC/WBA women’s flyweight champion Marlen Esparza (13-1, 1 KO), 33, of Houston, and WBO titlist Gabriela Alaniz (14-0, 6 KO), 27, of Argentina, will meet to unify their titles.
Junior middleweight Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs), 21, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will face Reggie Harris Jr. (7-3, 3 KOs), 29, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in an eight-rounder.
Usyk vs. Dubois is on
Three-belt heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk’s mandatory defense against WBA “regular” titlist Daniel Dubois has been made official.
As expected, the bout will take place on Aug. 26 at Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland. Dubois promoter Frank Warren posted those details to social media and added that the card would air on TNT Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom. TNT Sports is the new name for BT Sport.
A deal is being finalized for the card to air on ESPN+ in the United States, a source with knowledge of the details told Fight Freaks Unite.
The date puts the fight closed to Ukraine Independence Day, which is Aug. 24. Usyk is from Ukraine, which borders Poland and has a large Ukrainian population. Obviously, the fight cannot take place in Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion and its unprovoked war but Usyk still wanted to fight close to home, where he has not boxed since 2015 and never as a word champion.
Usyk promoter Alex Krassyuk of K2 Promotions won the purse bid for the right to promote the bout for $8,057,000. Warren was the only other bidder at $5,620,050.
Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), a 36-year-old southpaw and the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, will make his second heavyweight title defense and first since winning a second consecutive unanimous decision over former two-time unified titlist Anthony Joshua last August. He had hoped to face lineal/WBC champion Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship this past April but that deal fell apart due to Fury’s demands on the terms of a rematch clause. Once that fight was dead, the WBA ordered the overdue mandatory.
Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs), 25, of England, won the “regular” belt via fourth-round knockout of Trevor Bryan in June 2022 and has made one defense, a very shaky third-round stoppage of Kevin Lerena in December after Lerena dropped him three times in the first round and Dubois injured his knee.
Aug. 12 on Showtime
Melvin Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs), 25, of Nicaragua, and former IBF bantamweight titlist Emmanuel Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KOs), 30, of Puerto Rico, will vie for that vacant belt in the main event of a Showtime tripleheader on Aug. 12 at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland (in the Washington, D.C., region), a source with knowledge of the show told Fight Freaks Unite.
Lopez-Rodriguez is for one of the 118-pound belts vacated by undisputed champion Naoya Inoue in January as he decided to move up in weight.
TGB Promotions was the only bidder at the purse bid and won promotional rights to the bout for just $25,000.
Also on the card are two 10-rounders, per the source:
Junior welterweight contender Gary Antuanne Russell (16-0, 16 KOs), 27, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, will face Kent Cruz (16-0-3, 10 KOs), 30, of St. Louis. Russell will have his first fight in 13 months, since he knocked out former world titlist Rances Barthelemy in the sixth round. Cruz is coming off back-to-back eight-round draws with unbeaten Enriko Gogokhia last year.
Welterweight up-and-comer Travon Marshall (8-0, 7 KOs), 22, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, will face Gabriel Maestre (5-0-1, 4 KOs), 36, a two-time Olympian from Venezuela.
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and handicapped two Saturday night main events: IBF interim welterweight titlist Jaron Ennis’ defense against Roiman Villa on Showtime and lightweight prospect Floyd Schofield against Haskell Rhodes on DAZN. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Muratalla in co-feature
Top Rank announced that lightweight up-and-comer Raymond Muratalla and Diego Torres will meet in the 10-round co-feature of the Emanuel Navarrete-Oscar Valdez junior lightweight title bout on Aug. 12 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
“I couldn’t be more excited to get back in that ring on such a great card,” said the Robert Garcia-trained Muratalla, who will be in this third fight of the year. “I can’t wait to put on another great performance for the fans. I believe this is my time now, and I will continue to show the hard work that’s being put in.”
Muratalla (18-0, 15 KOs), 26, of Fontana, California, is coming off his biggest win, a second-round knockout of Jeremia Nakathila, who had gone the distance in a shutout loss to Shakur Stevenson in a 2021 junior lightweight interim title bout.
Torres (17-0, 16 KOs), 25, of Mexico, oldest of four boxing brothers, be making his U.S. debut.
“I think this is a big opportunity for me,” Torres said. “Fighting against another undefeated fighter is something that I was looking for. It is my way of showing that I am made for this, and I am here to achieve great things. I am not afraid. I'm going to give it my all and come out with a great victory.”
End of an era
Thompson Boxing Promotions, which suffered the death of founder Ken Thompson at age 85 in February, announced that is will cease operations following a final card on July 21 at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, where it has put on most of its shows during its 23-year existence.
The Thompson Boxing cards have long been considered the best club shows in the United States and the company has developed several fighters that went on to stardom, most notable recently inducted Hall of Fame two-division champion Timothy Bradley Jr., former unified junior featherweight titlist Daniel Roman, welterweight and junior middleweight title challenger Josesito Lopez and featherweight contender Ruben Villa.
The final card will include welterweight Louie Lopez (13-2-1, 4 KOs) and junior lightweight George Acosta (15-1, 2 KOs) in eight-rounders against opponents to be determined.
“We are deeply grateful to our loyal fans, who have been the driving force behind Thompson Boxing's success over the years,” company general manager and matchmaker Alex Camponovo said in making the announcement. “Their unwavering support and passion for the sport have been truly inspiring. We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the fighters we have had the privilege to represent. It has been an honor to work with such exceptional talent for the past 23 years, and we take pride in the role we played in their careers.”
Quick hits
Welterweight Vergil Ortiz, whose medical issues this week forced the cancellation of his fight with WBA “regular” welterweight titlist Eimantas Stanionis on Saturday night, has been removed from the mandatory position in a championships committee vote, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. told Fight Freaks Unite on Friday. It was the second time Ortiz (19-0, 19 KOs) was unable to face Stanionis due medical problems and the third time overall he has been forced out of a scheduled fight in the past 16 months. While Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) is the WBA mandatory challenger for the winner of the Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford undisputed title fight on July 29, and that is a fight he wants, Mendoza also said he is allowed to have an optional defense of the secondary belt.
Showtime will debut the first of three episodes of “All Access: Spence vs. Crawford” on Saturday (9 p.m. ET) before the start of the network tripleheader. The show will take viewers behind the scenes of the buildup to the heavily anticipated unification fight for the undisputed welterweight title between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford, who meet on July 29 (Showtime PPV and PPV.com) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The second episode debuts on July 15 (9:30 p.m.) and the epilogue episode debuts on Aug. 5 at a time to be announced. Here’s a clip from the first episode:
Weights from Atlantic City, N.J., for Saturday’s PBC/Showtime card (9:30 p.m. ET): Jaron “Boots” Ennis 145.5 pounds, Roiman Villa 146.5 (for Ennis’ IBF interim welterweight title); Yoelvis Gomez 159, Marquis Taylor 158; Edwin De Los Santos 133, Joseph Adorno 135; Euri Cedeno 159, William Townsel 157.5; Steven Torres 239, James Evans 225.5; Dwyke Flemmings Jr. 156.5, Henry Rivera 156.5; Ismail Muhammad 143, Parker Bruno 141.
Weights from San Antonio for Saturday’s Golden Boy/DAZN card (8 p.m. ET): Floyd Schofield 134.5 pounds, Haskell Rhodes 134.5; Joseph Diaz Jr. 141.5, Jerry Perez 138; Marlen Esparza 111.5, Gabriela Alaniz 110.6 (WBC/WBA/WBO women’s flyweight unification); Eric Tudor 154,5, Reggie Harris Jr. 162.5; Tristan Kalkreuth 199, Joe Jones 200.5; Darius Fulghum 176.5, Jeremiah Curtright 178.5.
Showtime will stream three preliminary bouts Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET) from the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Showtime Boxing Facebook page before the start of the Jaron Ennis-Roiman Villa-headlined tripleheader on the network at 9:30 p.m. ET. The three bouts: middleweight Euri Cedeno (4-0, 4 KOs), of the Dominican Republic, versus William Townsel (5-0, 4 KOs), of Virginia Beach, Virginia, in an eight-rounder; an eight-round heavyweight rematch of a draw between Steven Torres (5-0-1, 5 KOs), of Reading, Pennsylvania, and Toledo, Ohio’s James Evans (6-0-1, 6 KOs); and middleweight Dwyke Flemmings Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs), of Paterson, New Jersey, against Las Vegas’ Henry Rivera (2-0, 1 KO) in a four-rounder.
Former lineal/IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis (28-2, 20 KOs), 38, of Latvia, who has been idle since losing the title by unanimous decision in a grueling fight with Jai Opetaia last July in Opetaia’s home country of Australia, has withdrawn from his comeback fight against England’s John McCallum (13-2, 0 KOs) slated for July 21 on the Wasserman Boxing card in Edinburgh, Scotland. The reason for Briedis withdrawal was termed “a small setback in training.” Added to the card topped by junior featherweight Lee McGregor against Erik Robles was featherweight Isaac Lowe (22-2-3, 6 KOs), 29, of England, who is a close friend of Tyson Fury. Lowe will face Jonathan Santana (9-5-1, 1 KOs), 25, of Spain.
Most Valuable Promotions announced it has added a 10-rounder between women’s super middleweight contender Shadasia Green (12-0, 11 KOs), 33, of Paterson, New Jersey, who is a mandatory challenger for newly crowned undisputed champion Savannah Marshall, and Olivia Curry (7-1, 2 KOs), 33, of Chicago, to the Jake Paul-Nate Diaz card on Aug. 5 (DAZN PPV) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Also added was an eight-rounder featherweight bout between Alan Sanchez (22-5-1, 10 KOs), 32, of Mexico, and Angel Beltran Villa (17-1, 10 KOs), 27, of Mexico.
DAZN announced it has a deal with Australian promoter Tasman Fighters for its events to stream on the service. Tasman’s most notable fighter is Iineal/IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. “Australia is a hotbed of boxing talent as has been shown with so many talented Australian fighters making their mark in the professional ranks these past few years,” DAZN North American CEO Joseph Markowski said. “DAZN are incredibly excited to be teaming up with Tasman Fighters and broadcasting these brilliant events worldwide.” The first card of the deal will take place July 15 in Fortitude Valley, which is outside of Brisbane. It will be headlined by a 10-round light heavyweight bout between Conor Wallace (10-1, 7 KOs) and Mat Sheehan (10-1, 7 KOs). In the 10-round co-feature, featherweight Dana Coolwell (10-2, 7 KOs) takes on Luke Boyd (10-0, 10 KOs).
Show and tell
Riddick Bowe was coming off having knocked out Evander Holyfield in the eighth round of their third epic battle and was widely considered the No. 1 heavyweight in the world despite not holding a world title at the time. His next fight was not supposed to be all that demanding when he was matched with unbeaten Polish contender Andrew Golota. As it turned out, Golota brought the heat and engaged a diminished Bowe in a slugfest. Golota was ahead on all three scorecards — 67-65, 67-65 and 67-66 — going into the seventh round but he could not stop belting Bowe below the belt. Finally, in the seventh round, when he landed a horrendous low blow that dropped Bowe in agony, referee Wayne Kelly had no choice but to disqualify Golota. It was a move that led to a confrontation in the ring between the camps, which sparked an all-out riot that engulfed New York’s Madison Square Garden as a shocked national television audience watched it play out live on HBO. That unforgettable fight and post-fight spectacle took place on July 11, 1996 — 27 years ago on Tuesday. Here’s a mint program from the fight in my collection.
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Photos: Pacheco-Gallegos: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing; Schofield-Rhodes: Golden Boy
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Gallegos was The BEST 168LBS Fighter out of México, What an Awesome Performance by Diego Pacheco, Juan Montiel is my friend & talks to me bout whatever but he won't Talk about this😮✌🏻