Pacheco shines as he dominates, becomes 1st to knock out Sulecki
Super middleweight contender scores his biggest win; 'Sugar' Nunez drops Marriaga twice in demolition to maintain junior lightweight mandatory challenger status
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
Diego Pacheco held his infant daughter in one arm, had a pair of regional title belts slung over his other shoulder, and had a big smile on his face as he stood in the ring to take in the cheers from his hometown fans on Saturday night.
The young super middleweight contender was living his best life moments after impressively knocking out battle-tested former world title challenger Maciej Sulecki, the best opponent of his career and a man who had never previously been stopped.
Pacheco, the 2023 Fight Freaks Unite prospect of the year, scored the big body-shot knockout in the sixth round of the main event of a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, a home fight for the Los Angeles native, to maintain his position as the WBO’s No. 1 contender at 168 pounds.
“I feel great, man,” said Pacheco, who was headlining in a hometown fight for the second time. “Sulecki is a hell of a fighter. He came to fight. He came to win. But he ain’t ran into no one like me before.
“As a little kid this is what I dreamed of and to be living it right now is amazing. I can’t put into words how I feel.”
Sulecki, who was riding a four-fight winning streak and in his third bout since moving up to super middleweight in 2021, had been knocked down but gone the distance in decision losses to his best opponents in their hometowns before feeling Pacheco’s wrath. In 2019, he challenged Demetrius Andrade in Providence, Rhode Island, for his WBO middleweight title and in 2018 lost to former middleweight titlist Daniel Jacobs in Brooklyn, New York.
Going into the fight, Pacheco was well aware that Sulecki had never been stopped and was looking to make a statement by doing it. He did just that.
I am in my 25th year of full-time boxing coverage. Take advantage of that experience by upgrading to a paid subscription to read the rest of this post and for full access to all posts and comments — and also support independent journalism.