Diego Pacheco considers Trevor McCumby a more dangerous opponent than his fellow unbeaten super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli.

McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs, 1 NC) isn't nearly as highly regarded as Montreal's Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs), The Ring's No. 1-rated contender to undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez. Pacheco's upcoming opponent can punch though, thus the 24-year-old recognizes that he'll have to be strategic at times when they fight Saturday night in Frisco, Texas.

As much as Pacheco respects McCumby's power, the undefeated Los Angeles native also thinks the 32-year-old's style is perfectly suited to help him win in more entertaining fashion than he managed in his most recent appearance.

Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) wasn't especially pleased with last performance, even though he defeated then-unbeaten contender Steven Nelson by the same large margin, 117-111, on all three scorecards January 25 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Nelson wasn't as aggressive as Pacheco expects McCumby to be, which the Matchroom-backed youngster anticipates will lead to much more action during their 12-round co-feature of a card DAZN will stream worldwide from Ford Center at The Star, the training facility of the Dallas Cowboys.

Saturday on DAZN (7pm ET, 12am BST, $14.99), Rodriguez-Cafu tops Matchroom's latest foray stateside featuring world-ranked middleweight contender Austin 'Ammo' Williams' return and a tussle of unbeaten bantamweights when Arturo Popoca and Dominique Crowder duel for the vacant WBA Continental Americas title at 122-pounds among others.

"That's the reason I chose him as an opponent," Pacheco told The Ring, "because I knew his style, how he comes forward, his aggressiveness. That's what makes for my best performances, like we’ve seen before with [Manuel] Gallegos, with [Marcelo] Coceres, who was another guy who pushed the pace a little bit more.

"I feel like when guys don't push the pace is where I feel like I have to do more thinking, I have to be more creative, do more things, like we saw with Shawn McCalman and Steven Nelson this last fight, where I was kinda setting the pace more. I feel a lot more comfortable when I'm on my back foot and I’ve got a guy that's trying to come in and do all these things.

"That's where I've shone the most my whole career, always been the taller and longer fighter. Just dealing with guys trying to come in all the time, I feel I've mastered that. After controlling and getting them frustrated with my skills, that's when I'm able to break 'em down, start chopping the body, throwing uppercuts. That's what I'm looking forward to doing again, showcasing what I do in there."

Pacheco, who resides and trains just outside of Seattle, scored a 4th-round stoppage of Mexico's Gallegos (21-3-1, 18 KOs) in their July 2023 bout at Cintermex in Monterrey, Mexico. He later defeated Argentina's Coceres (32-8-1, 18 KOs) by 9th-round knockout in November 2023 at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.

McCalman (16-1, 8 KOs), of Aurora, Colorado, and Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, were the last two opponents that took Pacheco the distance, matchups he won unanimously over 10 and 12 rounds respectively.

McCumby meanwhile, tested Caleb Plant more than anticipated in his most recent bout. The Glendale, Arizona resident hurt the former IBF champ late in round two - when he should've been credited with a knockdown - and dropped Plant two rounds later.

Plant (23-3, 14 KOs) adjusted to McCumby's game plan and stopped him in the 9th-round on the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga undercard last September 14 at T-Mobile Arena.

"Trevor showed a lot in that fight," Pacheco said. "I feel the only reason he had success in the beginning was because no-one knew the style he'd bring. It kinda took Plant by surprise, maybe, and that's what gave him early success. But once Plant adjusted and stuck to the game plan, it was over. I'm just able to adapt to any style when you're in the ring, I feel like that's what I do very well."

DAZN's televised coverage of the main card is set to start at 7pm ET, headlined by San Antonio's Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) and South Africa's Phumelela Cafu (11-0-3, 8 KOs) squaring off for the Ring, WBC and WBO unified junior bantamweight titles.

If Rodriguez, a 30-1 favorite according to DraftKings, defeats Cafu, he'll earn a spot in another title unification fight against Argentina’s Fernando Martinez (18-0, 9 KOs), the WBA and former IBF champ, on “The Ring IV” pay-per-view card November 22 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.