Speaker 1: Well, it's my great pleasure to welcome to our podcast
this week. It is the outstanding up and coming super midleweight.
Some might call them still the prospects, some might say
a contender. I think more on the contender side. We'll
get into that, diego, But welcome to the show. You
you are on because you have the main event coming
up Saturday on the Zone on the Matchro Boxing card.
You'll be taking on the battle tested Messi Celeski in
a twelve round super middleweight fight. You'll be at home
in the Los Angeles area at the Dignity Health Dignity
Sports Health Park, and you're the main event, like I said,
and uh, you know, I'm happy to have you on here.
And first of all, it's you know, for you, it's
going to be another hometown fight. Your your second headliner
fight in the LA area in your past three fights,
after a lot of moving around. Can you just tell
me a little bit about the excitement level you have
of fighting in a place like the Dignity Health Park,
which is seen just so many great fights over the years,
and now you're the next in line to be in
the main event there.
Speaker 2: Ah yeah, man, it's a great I'm excited, very motivated.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: I put the work in, like like I was saying earlier.
You know, I remember going to Dignity House Sports Park
at the Times stub Hub as a kid, you know,
to go see a lot of amazing fights, you know.
So I have a lot of memories there with my
dad and my brothers, with friends who you know, we
all go up there to watch them great fights. And
I'm excited now that it's my turn, you know. And
now I'm the guy headlining there. I'm the guy who's
who's has all the lights under him, and I'm.
Speaker 3: Just ready to go. Man.
Speaker 2: I feel like this is where I belong and I'll
just keep showing the world why I belong here.
Speaker 1: So at the end of twenty twenty three, I picked
you for my platform, my publication Fight Freaks Unite as
the Prospect of the ear And I've been picking prospects
diego for a very long time, almost twenty five years
at ESPN at USA today and you follow in a
long line of fighters that have gone on that I picked.
Some that didn't amount to anything, and you know, we
don't get them all right, but so that a lot
of them that won world championships, and some guys were
even in the Hall of Fame. I pick guys like
Canelo Alvarez and Lomachenko and Miguel Coto, et cetera. And
now you're next up. So I just wonder, how do
you feel thus far about your development? You're only twenty
three years old. So far everything has gone beautifully, it
seems to me, and you're really on your way. But
in terms of when you sit down and assess where
you're at, what you have in front of you, where
do you think things are right now in terms of
the development that you've been along with matrimon, I feel.
Speaker 3: Very good about the way my career has.
Speaker 2: Been going, you know, with the team that I have,
with the training team, with the management team, with the
promotion of the company that I have behind me. It's
just it's just I'm just grateful, you know. I'm mattrely.
My fil has done an amazing job and taking my
career from pro debut to now twenty one and no
headlining shows in different stays, different countries, and now I'm
planning in my backyard of la and in an amazing,
amazing arena as the war Grounds in Carson California, and
I fought there once before opening up the show. So
now I'm back headlining and it's amazing, man, you know,
it's it's a dream country for me to headline in
my hometown and be able to put young fighters on
the undercard and and help them make a name for themselves.
Speaker 3: It's just a good feeling, you know.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm extremely happy with the work I've been putting
in this camp, extremely happy with with the development, the results,
the everything that I've been putting in to this boxing career.
Speaker 3: And I'm just excited. Man.
Speaker 2: Next next Saturday, We're going for twenty two and zero
against a tough heart opponent. But I will show the
world while I belong here and while I'm the next
guy at the one sixty eight.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned at the training team by your training camp,
you are trained by Jose Benavide Senior. He of course
is the father of Jose Junior and David Benavide's. David,
of course, one of the head for the last number
of years, one of the best super middleweights in the
world and has just stepped up to the light heavyweight
division in his last fight, and he has been a
multi time world champion. So I have to think that
when you train with somebody like David, who's you know,
a little older than you, a little bit more experienced
than you, that that's just got to be amazing experience.
I mean not only working with his dad in terms of,
you know, a good trainer obviously, but how much have
you learned just in the experience of being around a
top contender and a championship level fighter like David. I know,
you guys asparred together. What's that? How how has that
helped your development?
Speaker 3: Man? It's helped me a lot.
Speaker 2: You know, me and David have done on thousands and
thousands of rounds of spying together in the past five years.
And David is one of those guys that if you're
around him, man, he just wants to make you better.
He wants to he wants to see you reach your
full potential.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 2: And I've seen that with the way he obviously with me,
the way he tries to correct certain things for me,
or he tries to tell me, like things that things
will work for me.
Speaker 3: Because of my my style, my my range.
Speaker 2: You know, obviously we have different styles, but but we're
both good at what we do and and he's He's
told you. He would tell me all the time. Man,
He's like, man, you're one of the best boxes.
Speaker 3: I was barred with you. You know, you have great skills.
You know.
Speaker 2: I help him get ready for that Caleb Plan fight
and and he did amazing. So so yeah, man, David's
really a great guy to have to be around him,
especially if you're you're trained to fight for these big
fights men. And Senior obviously been to Vida's, has been
in the corner of a lot of world championship fights,
and uh he's got that experience, and it gives me
that confidence.
Speaker 3: Man, when I have him in my corner.
Speaker 1: I was saying, I take it. We're never going to
see David Benavitie's against uh Diego Pacheco in a boxer ink, right, I.
Speaker 2: Mean, who knows, you know, because obviously I'm a big
guy as well, and eventually I'll be moving.
Speaker 3: Up to one seventy five.
Speaker 2: And if we're both champions and and to fight that
the people want to see, just the way that people
want to see Canelo and vidas you know, and and
and we're two guys that we're up for it, you
know what I mean, We're we're in this. We're in
this to make the best to day, you know what
I mean, and make the biggest fight it's possible.
Speaker 3: You know, I'm only twenty three years old, but.
Speaker 2: I if I had it my way, you know, I'm
ready for a tit up shot now.
Speaker 1: So yeah, no, you're not that far away. It's just
it's a it's a division where it's hard to get
title fights because Canelo holds three of the belts and
the other belt is vacant but has a fight that's
on the table in terms of your activity level. One
thing that struck me is interesting about the way your
your career has unfolded for a young fighter you mentioned
just twenty three years old. A lot of guys they
don't they don't like to or they don't ever travel
out of their comfort zone at a young age. And
in the early part of your career, you've already fought
in a whole bunch of different paces around the United States,
but you've also fought more notably three different countries besides
the United States. You've fought in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, England.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 1: How has that been a lot of guys, like I said,
they don't do that. I mean you seem to embrace
that and shine on the road. You know in England,
for example, you fought the British fighter in his home
area and you're just sort of getting used to that
for down the road. I mean, how, how, why why
have you been able to do that and adjust to
that so well at a young age.
Speaker 2: I feel like it just comes from my amateur background,
you know, I'll always would travel to the tournaments and
and uh as an amateur, I fought and hungry and
hungry Budapest, you know, I fought in in a.
Speaker 3: Lot of different places, you know.
Speaker 2: So I've always said, you know, I'm with my skills
and the work I put in and in the way
I'm able to stay focused and and and stay ten
toes down and just put me in a boxing ring
it no.
Speaker 1: Matter where it's have gloves will travel.
Speaker 2: Right exactly do what I do and then and that
that's just what it is.
Speaker 3: You know. I feel like no matter like.
Speaker 2: This, you know, And I got to think match Match
is in an amazing job and getting me on all
these big shows and getting me the right experience, disabiliting
me to be ready when I get these world title shots.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned about how you've traveled around your opponent Celeski.
He's from Poland and he's traveled a number of times
fought in the United States. Now he's coming to your
home area. And when I look at your your your
list of fights you have fought, like for example Cosaras,
who fought for a world title, But it seems to
me that Celeski is by far and away your biggest
step and step up in terms of your opposition. First
of all, do you agree with that that he's your
biggest step up? When I look over the rest of
your list of fights, he seems to stand out as
the best guy he so far.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think on paper, he for sure is the
best fighter that I've faced up to now.
Speaker 3: But like competition wise, you know, I.
Speaker 2: Won't really know what I'm in there with him, So
I mean, I'm going in expecting the best Lechi ever,
and that's what it is. You know, I'm gonna be
the best day of the checko comes Saturday, and I
just feel like Selecki has never been in there with
a power punch like me, who's six flooring can box
as well.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 1: I asked you about that because his his his resume,
you know, other than the only two blemishes on his
record are against guys that were at the top, you know,
top level of fighters. Daniel Jacobs, who was a multi
time are a middleway, former middleweight title holder and one
of the best for a period of time. That was
all the way back in twenty eighteen he went to
distance and then the only other fight we went to
distance on a matchrom card as a matter of fact,
against Demetris Andre in a WBO middleweight title fight in
twenty nineteen. Other than that, guy's never lost. He's won
four fights in a row. He's been at super middleweight.
This will be his third fight in the way class.
So when you analyze him, what is your take on
his ability, what he brings, and what you have to
be careful of.
Speaker 2: Every every fighter is a dangerous fighter, especially when he
has the experience and he's a veteran and he's been
in there with with a lot of champions. Like you said,
you know, guys who've been at the top. You know,
he's obviously a dangerous fighter, you know what I mean.
But I've I strongly feel that I'm the more skilled fighter.
Speaker 3: I feel like I'm a better fighter than Daniel Jacobs
and blub One dry to.
Speaker 2: You know, I feel like my skill set and the
way I'm able to pick it up and bring it
back down and just change rhythms and use my length
and my legs and everything put together. I feel like
I'm just a complete fighter and I'm able to adapt.
You know, I'm able to change my game plan mid fight.
I'm able to box and move or a step to
him with my power shot and go to the body,
you know. I mean, so, I just I feel like
I have a lot of tools in my bag to
really control the fight and make things go my way.
Speaker 1: Now, when he fought against Demetris Andred, he did get
knocked down in that fight, but he didn't get stopped,
and he didn't get stopped by Jacobs, who was a
tremendous puncher out one hundred and sixty pounds. And so
if Diego Pacheco can become the first man, it's you know,
winning obviously is the most significant thing, of course for anybody,
but if you could be the first guy to stop
him of the guys the type of opponents that he
has faced, how how big of a deal would that
be to you? Is that something that's in your mind
at all, or is it just a matter of like
I got to win and I get the knockout, so
be it.
Speaker 2: Definitely obviously want to want to get the knockout, you know.
I want to give the people up performers that I'll
remember and obviously make a statement so I can keep
moving forward and get these bigger fights. But like you said,
you know, once I'm in there, man, I'm just trying
to win. I'm trying to get the That's all that
matters to me. And if it takes for me to
go at distance or or if I step to them
and get them out of there, man, it doesn't really
make a difference for me.
Speaker 3: Man, I want to get that win on my on.
Speaker 2: My record, and obviously you know I was on a
nine k winning streak before my last fight, so I
want to get back to my knockout ways.
Speaker 3: But obviously the most important thing.
Speaker 1: Is going to w all right, So I'll just wrap
up with this then. I mean, you we mentioned before
you fight in a way class where it's kind of
hard to get the title fight because of the fact
that you got one man in Canelo Alvarez, who holds
three of the titles on the other one, which was
as vacated, is you know, going to be up for
grabs in a fight that's coming up, So no no
openings if you will. But I wonder from your perspective,
I mean, of course, Canelo was like the the the
guy that everybody wants to fight in and around super middleweight.
But is that sort of like is he your ultimate
goal or is like, what is the other big fight?
Because in your weight class, there's lots of other good
fighters you got, like we just as an example, we
saw Christian and Billy with a win last week. He's
a top fighter. Mongia, is there your Mattroom stable mate, Berlanga.
He's got the fight coming up against Canelo. He's in
the weight class. So tell me how that shakes out, man.
Speaker 2: It's it's I feel like it's in an amazing time
right now.
Speaker 3: You know, from my last two or three.
Speaker 2: Fights, I've been trying to get these big, big fights
with the guys who are ranked high up there, so
I can, you know, get to that world title shot
sooner than later. But obviously, you know it's hard to
make the fights. Like you said, some making fights.
Speaker 3: Isn't the easiest thing. And and I'm only twenty.
Speaker 2: Three years old, you know, so I feel like I
have time to fight all those guys.
Speaker 3: Obviously, you know I won't go like Mungia. Even the
guy Mugia is fighting the Canadian fighter, Eric Bazinier.
Speaker 2: Yeah, a good fighter. So there's another great fight. Obviously,
I'm Billy after Berlanga. There's a ton of names, you
know what I mean. So hopefully after this fight started
next year, you know, we'll well, we'll start getting closer
and closer to that well title fight.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm looking forward first and foremost of senior fight
so Leski on Saturday, and I wish you nothing but
the best of luck in that fight in Diego. Thank
you very much for doing this today. Appreciate your fight.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Dan, I appreciate it. You bet