Labor Day Weekend was a busy one in the boxing world both inside and outside the ropes. In the ring contender Diego Pacheco scored a statement win whilst on the outside, big fights were getting announced and others were rumored to be happening. Let’s get to our takes on some of boxing’s current events.
Diego Pacheco Has Arrived
Eddie Hearn has talked about Diego Pacheco for a long time, but every boxing promoter has to be taken with a pinch of salt when talking about their own fighters, and Eddie more than most, but the Mexican American’s victory at the weekend was significant. Pacheco knocked out respected former contender, now gatekeeper I guess, Maciej Sulecki, with a viscous sixth round body shot that literally deflated the Pole. Hunched on all fours and gasping for air, there was no way the veteran was beating the count. What next for Pacheco? Canelo’s in the same division and Pacheco is knocking at the door now, but it still seems a little premature to discuss that fight happening. Pacheco still has some hurdles to overcome before getting a shot at boxing’s number one star. A super-middleweight showdown with Jaime Munguia would be a fantastic fight and should Pacheco come through that fight, no one could deny the validity of his claims to fight Canelo. Pacheco is with Matchroom, Munguia with Golden Boy, both promotional outfights broadcast their shows on DAZN. Let’s hope Hearn and Oscar De La Hoya can get this one done.
Josh Warrington Gets World Title Shot, Again
Don’t get me wrong, I like Josh Warrington, I think he’s been great for British boxing, has always taken difficult fights and given fans value for their money, but it seems a bit incredible that the Leeds fighter is getting handed another world-title shot in his first fight at super-featherweight. Despite having only won one of his last five fights, including has last two being losses, Warrington gets a shot at Anthony Cacace’s IBF world championship in his first outing at his new weight class. It does appear that the fact Warrington has such an ardent fanbase, coming primarily out of his home city, earns him more opportunities at world titles than other fighters. Warrington is a legend when it comes to ticket sales and regardless of results, Eddie Hearn has been happy to roll out ‘The Leeds Warrior’ whenever a Matchroom fighter has a title. Commercially it makes perfect sense but it does seem like results are not the driving reason for Josh Warrington challenging to become a three-time world champion. If boxing truly was a meritocracy, Cacace would be defending his IBF title against a different opponent.
Same Old Story for Eubank Jr.
It’s seems like we’ve walked this path with Chris Eubank Jr a few times in the past. It’s now exactly one year since his emphatic rematch victory over Liam Smith and like so many times before, Eubank spent the post fight interviews declaring how massive commercial fights or world title fights were next. Neither have transpired in the intervening twelve months but Eubank has just announced that he’ll be returning to action on October 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia again Kamil Szeremeta. The Polish fighter is neither a world champion nor a marquee name but given that this fight is taking place on Turki Alalshikh’s card, you can assume that both fighters will be getting compensated handsomely which explains Eubank’s decision to take an otherwise ill advised fight at this stage of his career. Eubank is talking about getting Canelo in May but the Englishman has spent his career chasing Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez to no avail in a manner that’s reminiscent of his compatriot Amir Khan’s fruitless pursuit of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Eubank has a tricky assignment in front of him on October 12th and should he navigate that challenge successfully his focus should be on picking up world title in the barren middleweight division or avenging a ten-year-old loss to domestic rival Bill Joe Saunders.
Former world champion Saunders hasn’t fought since his own knockout defeat to Canelo, but he plans to make a come back to boxing. It’s been three years since Saunders last fought and he hasn’t always kept himself in prime shape since. The rivalry between the two Englishmen has never subsided despite the passing of time since their European, British and Commonwealth title fight and it must grate on Eubank that Saunders has that victory over him. If money is the main motivating factor for Eubank in pursuing the Canelo fight, a Billy Joe Saunders that hasn’t fought in three years nor remained in shape while out of the ring may be another lucrative and possibly more sensible option. Saunders will likely be rusty upon his return like all fighters after a long layoff, but it’s the weight fluctuations which may prove to be his downfall. What will Saunders’ conditioning be like when he returns? Not great, probably. Going after well paid revenge seems like a better plan for Eubank rather than continuing the wild goose chase that is the Canelo fight.
Teofimo Making Some Changes?
For a long time various voices in the boxing world have been suggesting that WBO lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez should make some adjustments to his training regime, primarily that he should at least get someone to assist his father with the coaching. Videos posted on social media over the weekend show Lopez training alongside Canelo Alvarez, with the Mexican’s trainer Eddie Reynoso putting both fighters through their paces. It’s unclear whether Lopez intends to add highly regarded trainer Reynoso to his team, but should he do so it would likely be in tandem with his father, rather than in place of him. That may not be a bad idea, after all Lopez has achieved all his success to date with Teofimo Sr. in his corner. Yes, the tactics and temperament have been erratic at times but the win over Josh Taylor showcased that this father-son duo can still produce wins at the absolute highest level of boxing. Lopez’ performances since winning the world title from Taylor have been poor and bringing in Reynoso to assist Lopez Sr. with the preparation may be a master stroke. You’d also imagine training alongside Canelo would be a beneficial experience for Lopez, iron sharpening iron and all that. No official announcements have been made but it would certainly be an intriguing link up should it materialize.