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Promoter Eddie Hearn wants Jaime Munguia next for Diego Pacheco to fight following his victory over the always-tough Maciej Sulecki last Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Munguia’s Price Tag Might be Too Steep
It’s unclear if Hearn wants Munguia because he could potentially place a fight between him and Pacheco on DAZN PPV to help with the financial costs of putting this match together. Even if it does get put on PPV, Munguia would want a guaranteed purse that might be out of Hearn’s price range.
Hearn thinks a fight between Pacheco and Munguia would easily sell out the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. However, it is questionable whether Hearn can raise enough money to interest Munguia in that fight.
Hearn balked at meeting the $2.2 million price WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. wanted for a unification clash against Hearn-promoted IBF champion Jaron Boots Ennis.
Hearn offered Norman Jr. $1.75 million and would go no higher. That was surprising because Hearn had sounded so eager about Boots’ potential when he signed him to Matchroom, but thus far, he’s not shown a willingness to invest in his future.
What was surprising is how Hearn made a big deal about Norman Jr. not agreeing to his $1.75 million offer. He talked as if it was a lot of money.
If Hearn can’t come up with the money Munguia would want, Pacheco will not be fighting him. Munguia is a different type of fighter than the guys Hearn has been picking for him. He will want more money, and Hearn won’t encourage him to take the fight if he’s unwilling to offer at least $5 million or more.
Alternative Options for Pacheco:
– Bektemir Melikuziev
– Erik Bazinyan
– Rohan Murdock
– Zach Parker
– Kevin Lele Sadjo
– Sergiy Derevyanchenko
– Vladimir Shishkin
The above fighters should be more affordable for Hearn if he’s dealing with financial constraints of limiting what he can offer to less than $2 million for Pacheco’s next opponent.
“It’s very unusual to have a fighter at that age, so good, 23-0 in the world, and I think he has a massive future ahead of him,” said Eddie Hearn to the iFL TV YouTube channel, talking about Diego Pacheco.
The performance by Pacheco against the 35-year-old Sulecki (32-3, 12 KOs) wasn’t out of this world good. Pacheco looked decent against a fighter long in the tooth, but he was far from great in stopping the Polish fighter in the sixth round with a body shot.
Hearn needs to be realistic about Pacheco’s future because he didn’t show the talent that would suggest he will take over as the #1 fighter at 168 after Canelo Alvarez retires. Other young fighters would beat Pacheco and make it look easy. Guys like Osleys Iglesias and Christian Mbilli would destroy Pacheco.
“I think Munguia is the perfect fight. You’ve got Munguia, a Mexican fighter with big support,” said Hearn. “You’ve got Diego Pacheco; there was a great atmosphere there tonight. That sells out the Staples Center easy, and it’s such a good fight. A tough fight for Diego.”
Munguia’s Camp Unlikely to Agree
Even if Hearn can come up with the money that Munguia would want for a fight with Pacheco, it’s a match that his promoters at Top Rank likely won’t agree to. Why would they? Munguia lost his last fight against Canelo on May 4th, and he needs to be rebuilt. They’re not going to match Munguia against Pacheco, especially if all Hearn gives a lowball offer, hoping he can get him on the cheap.
“I really fancy it, but it has to be those kinds of fights because we’re [Pacheco] going to get called as the mandatory for the winner of Canelo-Berlanga. We appreciate that’s not going to happen until September 2025. That’s a year’s time. So it’s two more fights, which is fine. It’s perfect timing because when that comes, we’re not turning that down. You’ve got to take it,” said Hearn.
Pacheco will likely get a title shot against unified super middleweight champion Canelo in 2025, but he won’t be ready for that fight. There’s too wide of a talent gap between Canelo and Pacheco for the 23-year-old Diego to be ready by next year for that match.
“So, someone like Munguia would be absolutely perfect for the development of Diego Pacheco,” said Hearn.
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