Diego Pacheco is coming home.
The L.A.-native and super middleweight, who is rising up the ranks will headline his first bout in Los Angeles, California, at the YouTube Theater, a mere five-minute drive from where his mother lives.
Pacheco, who is 22-years-old, and holds a record of 19-0 with 16 KOs, will face Marcelo Coceres, 32-years-old, with a record of 32-5-1, and 18 KOs. The bout signals many things for Pacheco - a healthy investment by his promoter Matchroom Boxing to place faith in him headlining in Los Angeles, California, especially with California’s prices driving a lot of the market elsewhere. The bout which takes place November 18th on DAZN is essentially the transition from prospect to contender or more poetically a boy to a man. Despite Coceres not being ranked in the top fifteen of any sanctioning body, Coceres is a stern test. Coceres is best known for dropping Edgar Berlanga and giving former world champion Billy Joe Saunders an honest fight. The fight signals the start of something for Pacheco, who has longed for this momentum.
“To be doing this at 22 is cool,” said Pacheco. “I thought maybe I would headline in a world title fight when I was 24 or 25 [years-old]. This weekend it’s the YouTube Theater, hopefully down the line it will be the SoFi Stadium. It’s a five-minute drive from my mom’s house, so it’s perfect to be having my first headline show there.”
“It’s so special to have a homecoming show,” said Pacheco. “It’s the most important fight of my career so far, it’s time for me to headline at home. I’ve headlined in the UK and in Mexico, so to be bringing everyone out to LA is surreal, I dreamt of this as a little kid and now I can’t wait to perform on Saturday and begin a whole new chapter in my career. If Eddie told me I’m fighting Canelo, I feel I would give him a good fight. I want Edgar Berlanga next after this fight. I think I knock him out, cold".
“It’s been a great year for me. I unexpectedly became the main event in the UK in March, and I rose to the occasion and put on a great performance. The experience was great, fighting Cullen, he was a long fighter, but he didn’t have too much that fazed me or worried me at all, I just knew that I had to keep to the game plan, stick to my jab, stay sharp and the KO would come, and it did. I hit him with a few right hands that made him forget about the body, I went downstairs and got him out of there.”
Pacheco, who is stablemates with David Benavidez, and trained by Jose Benavidez Sr., will look to lay the groundwork for the team in the month of November. Pacheco fights this Saturday whereas Benavidez will be fighting Demetrius Andrade next Saturday in Las Vegas on pay-per-view, with the WBC announcing the winner would be next for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Pacheco looks to set the tone for the gym as they will have two big fights next week with David’s older brother, Jose Benavidez Sr., also competing against WBC middleweight world champion Jermall Charlo on the undercard as well. Pacheco seems to be enjoying every single moment of this experience as he reflected.
“I’ve sparred with all the best guys at 160, 168 and 175 and they know what it is, I’m here, I am a special breed, I really feel that I have a God-given talent and with my hard work I feel that I am unstoppable. You guys have seen my fights, I’m getting better and stronger, and I am looking forward to keep doing those things against better opposition. Coceres is a great test for me on Saturday, and I just can’t wait to show everyone what I am about against someone as good as him.”
