‘I don’t think he’s ready’: Sulecki eyes upset of rising star Pacheco

Diego Pacheco faces Maciej Sulecki on Saturday night.

Diego Pacheco takes on Maciej Sulecki this Saturday night on DAZN, as Pacheco looks to continue his rise up the super middleweight rankings, while Sulecki looks to get back in the race.

Pacheco (21-0, 17 KO) has mostly impressed in his climb up the 168 lb ranks, though he’s coming off what was maybe a tougher test than anticipated against Shawn McCalman in April, and he still has plenty to work on given his youth.

The talent, though, seems to be there, and Pacheco is adamant that he’s ready for bigger names, though he says he hasn’t lost focus on the task at hand.

“I feel I progressed a lot and I’m super happy with how my training camp went and excited for this fight on Saturday. Sulecki is a tough guy and I’m looking forward to a war on Saturday night,” Pacheco said.

“I’m young in the sport. I’m only 23 years old. But if it was up to me, I feel I’m ready for anybody in the division. Right now, I’m facing Sulecki, and he is my main focus and what I’m locked in on. I feel great. I feel confident about my fight Saturday and looking forward to putting on a great performance. Being in tough fights is what I’ve dreamed of my whole life. That’s what I worked hard for and joined this sport for.”

The 35-year-old Sulecki (32-2, 12 KO) is best-known for his years at middleweight, where he suffered losses to Daniel Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade in 2018 and 2019, and also survived a dramatic late charge to beat Gabriel Rosado in 2019.

He’s won four straight fights, but they were against low-level opposition, and that time period goes back a full four years, too. Still, the Polish veteran feels that he has the ability to pull an upset this weekend.

“I know that I will be the best test for Pacheco, I know that he has time but now is not his time,” he offered. “Maybe he will be a world champion, he does have the talent, but I know it’s my time now. I’m ready for him and I hope he’s ready for me, I know it will be a great fight.

“I know I haven’t been in big boxing for awhile but I’m going to take him into the deep waters and drown him. I don’t think he’s ready.”