Diego Pacheco is a large super middleweight who’s on the rise. He plans to put on a show on the undercard of Mikey Garcia vs. Sandor Martin.
Diego Pacheco is a big deal in the super middleweight division, both literally and physically. The 20-year-old youngster from Los Angeles is on the rise and ahead of schedule in terms of his blossoming boxing career.
Pacheco (12-0, 9 KOs) isn’t new to the boxing game. He has been at it since he was nine years old.
“My dad actually put me in a boxing gym when I was nine years old,” Pacheco told FanSided. “He took me to a gym that was in my neighborhood and signed me up and fight the first few months. There’s coaches there they can notice something in me. They could tell I was special. Ever since I started, I’ve never stopped. It’s just always been boxing.”
Even from the start, there was something a little different about Pacheco beyond his immense talent. He was always one of the biggest fighters in his age group and division.
“I’ve always been a super big kid,” recalled Pacheco. “I remember I was about 12, and other 12-year-olds were like 100 pounds, you know, 90 pounds. I was the only 12-year-old that was like 130 already. So I would go to tournaments, and I wouldn’t get no fights. There would be nobody my weight, so I’d go straight to nationals. In my first tournament, I only have like six amateur fights, and I went to the nationals, and I fought all these guys were already national champions, and I beat them all.”
As an amateur, Pacheco won eight national titles. Like those early days, Pacheco is still the largest in his division. He’s a 6-foot-4 super middleweight who towers over most of his opponents.
Super middleweights Diego Pacheco and Lucas de Abreu could steal the show on Saturday, Oct. 16
Pacheco isn’t just sizeable. He’s also plenty powerful. Pacheco has knocked out nine opponents in 12 fights. What makes him a little different than most long and rangy boxers is that he prefers to go to the body.
“Honestly, I think I just naturally loved hurting people to the body,” said Pacheco. “Once I’ve got a little taste of how effective hitting the body was, I just I just wanted to keep doing it. I just wanted to keep hurting people to the body and keep hitting them with that left hook to the liver.”
Pacheco fights fellow unbeaten fighter Lucas de Abreu (12-0, 11 KOs) on the Oct. 16 Mikey Garcia vs. Sandor Martin undercard. Abreu also possesses power, but he might not be getting the same work as Pacheco. Pacheco has spent time in camp sparring former title contender Gabriel Rosado and for champion David Benavidez.
“I actually been working with them for a while now,” said Pacheco. “David, the first time I was in camp with him, he personally DM’d me and invited me to be in his camp. It was was last year during the pandemic. He invited me over, and I was staying with him at his house and training with him down there for six weeks. Then with Gabriel Rosado was through Wildcard. The people down at Wildcard are really good friends of mine. They really love mem, so they always invited down there to work with their guys.”
They say that iron sharpens iron, and Pacheco is getting some of the best work the super middleweight division can offer. Abreu is a worthy test, but Pacheco is on his way to becoming a true player in the division.
Diego Pacheco vs. Lucas de Abreu goes down on Saturday, Oct. 16, on the undercard of Mikey Garcia vs. Sandor Martin. The event takes place at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, CA. Coverage begins on DAZN at 7:30 p.m. ET. Follow along with FanSided for all your boxing news and stories.