Pacheco And Mercado’s Return On West Coast

Ernesto Mercado and Diego Pacheco will share the December 13th card in Southern California in an Eddie Hearn-promoted event.

The highly ranked, unbeaten #3 WBO super middleweight contender Pacheco (24-0, 18 KOs) will likely be in the main event against a still-to-be-determined opponent.

Tito Mercado Deserves the Headline

Light welterweight contender Mercado (17-0, 16 KOs) arguably should be the main event, as he’s shown more talent in his short four-year professional career than the lanky 6’4″ Pacheco. Mercado was supposed to fight last summer in June, but an injury scratched that idea.

The Ring broke the story of Mercado and Pacheco sharing the card. It will be interesting to see who Hearn can secure for those two fighters if Turki Alalshikh isn’t involved. To persuade other promoters to agree to their fighters facing Pacheco and Mercado, Hearn will need to invest money.

Fans Tired of Baby Steps

Fans are starting to lose patience with the way Hearn is bringing along Pacheco, as they want him to step up against a quality contender like Osleys Iglesias to see if he’s any good or not.

Understandably, it wouldn’t make sense for Hearn to match Pacheco against a phenom like Osleys and watch him lose. The chances of rebuilding Diego after a loss to the Cuban Iglesias would be slim.

Ranking Slippage at 168

It took Pacheco seven years to reach his current position, and he has actually been losing ground lately, despite remaining unbeaten. Canelo Alvarez has taken the #1 spot in the WBO’s rankings at 168 from Pacheco, and the unaccomplished Hamzah Sheeraz is now ranked just behind him at #2.

The ranking drop by Pacheco is tied to the lackluster matchmaking that his promoters have done for him. He should have been moved up by now, but they’re using the same formula as they did with Edgar Berlanga when he was with them. In other words, weak matchmaking to get him into a big money clash that he’s overmatched and unqualified for.

Pacheco’s last six opponents:

Trevor McCumby
Steven Nelson
Maciej Sulecki
Shawn McCalman
Marcelo Coceres
Manuel Gallegos

Shakur’s Silence Speaks Volumes

The former amateur star, Ernesto Mercado, is coming off a fourth-round knockout win over Jose Pedraza on June 25, 2025, in Las Vegas. Mercado, 23, called out Shakur Stevenson recently, but was dismissed by him. Fans saw that an example of Shakur viewing Mercado as a threat.