WBO #1 super middleweight champion Diego Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs) has a fight in the works with top 10-rated Kevin Lele Sadjo (23-0, 20 KOs) for the main event on DAZN on September 7th in Carson, California.
Lance Pugmire broke the news of the Pacheco-Sadjo fight, which should be an interesting one if it happens. The 34-year-old Sadjo is built along the same dimensions as the 5’8″ Canelo Alvarez and is an excellent puncher.
Pacheco is being groomed for a world title shot against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Losing to Sadjo would ruin Pacheco’s last hope of getting a lucrative payday fight against Alvarez. Still, his promoters feel it’s essential that he take this fight to strengthen his chances of getting the title shot.
Sadjo has never fought anyone in the top tier, making it hard to gauge how he’ll do against a fighter of the pedigree of the 6’4″ Pacheco on September 7th.
In Sadjo’s fights against Jake Cullen and Durval Elias Palacio, he ate a lot of punches but still got the victory based on his power and aggression. Sadjo’s best career win came against Cullen in 2021 with a sixth-round body-shot stoppage.
Sadjo didn’t look impressive at all against Palacio, a second-tier fighter.
He was taking a lot of punishment from Palacio, a non-contender, and doing a lot of wrestling. After the fifth, Sadjo looked exhausted and couldn’t do much besides throwing occasional wild shots.
Pacheco has recent victories over Shawn McCalman and Marcelo Coceres in drama-filled bouts in which he took a lot of shots, but got the wins with his power and size.
Things looked bleak for Pacheco in the early rounds against the quicker McCalman, who was repeatedly catching him with big punches.
Pacheco took control of the fight with his quick combinations on the inside, imposing his size and youth in the second half of the contest to win a ten-round unanimous decision last April in Las Vegas.
Some fans on social media believe Pacheco is making a mistake by fighting the unbeaten Sadjo, but this is a fight in which he needs to prove himself. If Pacheco can’t beat a fighter at Sadjo’s level, he should forget about a title shot because this guy isn’t one of the killers at 168.