If Eddie Hearn were to have his way, two of boxing’s rising, undefeated stars in the super middleweight division would square off in their next fight.
In an interview with
The Ring, Matchroom Boxing’s CEO called for the WBO President Gustavo Olivieri to order a final eliminator bout between
Diego Pacheco and
Hamzah Sheeraz. Hearn’s plea for the WBO to order the fight comes after the sanctioning body installed Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) as the No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger for Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) earlier this week ahead of their bout for the undisputed super middleweight title on Sept. 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
“Gustavo Olivieri, this is my appeal to you to order Hamzah Sheeraz against Diego Pacheco for the mandatory position for the WBO world title, because that is one of the best fights in boxing,” Hearn said to The Ring’s Louis Hart. “That is a 24-year-old against a 26-year-old, two guys who I believe are the future of the 168-pound division. Make the fight.
"You've also just ordered
Callum Smith to fight David Morrell out of nowhere, no problem. We’d also take that fight, but you want to order those types of fights; order Hamzah Sheeraz against Diego Pacheco for a final eliminator, and we will accept that fight. It's a brilliant fight.”
Pacheco (24-0, 18 KOs), 24, is
coming off a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Trevor McCumby (28-2, 14 KOs) on July 19 at The Ford Center at The Star, in Frisco, Texas. The 6-foot-4 Pacheco is ranked No. 3 by the WBO and WBC, No. 8 by the WBA and No. 13 by the IBF. Pacheco also holds secondary WBC and WBO titles.
Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs), 26, announced his arrival to the super middleweight division in emphatic fashion,
knocking Edgar Berlanga down three times and stopping him in the fifth round on July 12 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing, New York, in a WBC title eliminator. Sheeraz leapfrogged Pacheco in the WBO rankings and is No. 2, only trailing Crawford. The 6-foot-3 Sheeraz is also ranked No. 6 by the WBC and No. 10 by the IBF.
Pacheco vs. Sheeraz is one of the best fights that can be made between two rising stars. It could also easily serve as a headliner for a second edition of Matchroom vs. Queensberry, with Sheeraz being promoted by the latter Frank Warren entity.
No matter the circumstances, Pacheco and Sheeraz are on a collision course, and no one would complain if they were standing across from each other in their next fights.