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Diego Pacheco Wins Homecoming Fight by Knockout in LA

INGLEWOOD, CA.-Big homie Diego Pacheco returned to his South-Central Los Angeles roots and scorched Argentine strong boy Marcelo Coceres to win by knockout on Saturday in their super middleweight fight.
It was a big test for a variety of reasons.
“I’m happy with the outcome,” said Pacheco.
Pacheco (20-0, 17 KOs) defended his regional super middleweight titles successfully against Coceres (32-6-1, 18 KOs) but the Argentine fighter showed the more than 2,000 fans at YouTube Theater just what to expect from top 20 fighters.
After some measured opening rounds Pacheco and Coceres began opening up with the bombs and suddenly the crowd woke up to the sound of thunderous punches.
Though a few inches shorter Coceres always seemed dangerous behind his hunched stance and when he finally opened-up, left hooks crashed Pacheco’s jaw. Fans seemed surprised by the sudden violence.
At first it seemed like an accidental connection but Coceres kept launching wide left hooks and kept landing on Pacheco’s jaw. It seemed to wake up Pacheco who suddenly seemed more concerned.
“He was throwing awkward punches,” Pacheco said. “I caught on to him.”
Pacheco made adjustments to his strategy and realized that Coceres was even more dangerous than shaking a bottle of nitro. To make things even more perilous the Argentine’s head crashed into Pacheco’s face several times.
It was a learning experience.
Knowing he had an arena full of rabid fans Pacheco needed to concentrate and figure out how to turn up the juice.
“I was trying to be a little patient and not let the crowd get to me,” Pacheco said.
In the eighth round Coceres connected immediately with two left hooks. Pacheco took the blows in stride and fired a quick one-two and moved into full attack mode. An eight-punch barrage suddenly had the Argentine fighter in retreat and when he attempted to counter he was met with counter rights.
Pacheco was making a stand.
“I’m glad that happened,” said Pacheco of taking big blows.
In the ninth round Pacheco blasted a right to the body that seemed to affect Coceres. The Argentine tried to counter and was met with counter rights and when he tried to counter again Pacheco connected with a right uppercut. Coceres fired back and Pacheco countered with a right and left and a perfect right uppercut to the chin. Down went Coceres who was counted out by referee Ray Corona at 2:53 of the ninth round.
Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn was pleased by the outcome.
“He’s only 22 years old,” said the promoter Hearn. “He’s a future star for sure.
World Title Changes Hands
Mexico City’s Erika Cruz (17-2, 2 KOs) crashed her way past Venezuela’s Mayerlin Rivas (17-5-3, 11 KOs) with her combination of head-first aggression and constant punching to wrest the WBA super bantamweight title away by majority decision.
It was a distinct contrast of styles.
Cruz won her second division world title against another two-division world titlist Rivas with a battering style.
With crowds cheering for Cruz she used her unique style of charging forward with her head down like a battering ram and winging punches. She was the busier fighter in most of the rounds.
Rivas, the champion, tried to keep the fight in the middle of the ring and at a distance. She used jabs and tried to keep the fight at arms length. She was very leery of Cruz’s head which crashed into her face many times.
Through most of the fight Cruz was the busier fighter as Rivas worked on trying to catch the Mexican fighter with uppercuts and lead rights. It worked occasionally but the Mexican fighter who went 10 rounds with the great Amanda Serrano was not going to be deterred by the Venezuelan champion.
Back and forth the two fighters tried to dominate using their own styles and after 10 rounds that saw no knockdowns the three judges scored it 95-95, 98-92, 97-93 for Cruz who becomes the new WBA super bantamweight titlist.
“Rivas was very good and very tough,” said Cruz, the former featherweight champion who dropped down to super bantamweight for this match. “I was the busier fighter.”
Other Bouts
With shocking brevity Jonathan Rodriguez (17-1-1, 7 KOs) floored former world champion Khalid Yafai (27-2) twice before the knocking him around the ring and forcing referee Tom Taylor to end the fight at 2:17 of the first round.
It was expected to prove a testing ground for the former super flyweight champion as a bantamweight. No dice.
Rodriguez connected with a right cross to the chin right through Yafai’s guard and the ex-champion folded like a three-legged chair. He got up shakily and bravely tried to fight on and was caught with another right. Though it did not connect cleanly the force of the blow delivered Yafai to the canvas once again. He got up quickly but took the count.
Rodriguez knew he had Yafai hurt and was looking to set up another knockout blow. The British fighter was moving while trying to clear his head when Rodriguez pounced on him again. The American fighter unleashed four blows and Yafai seemed slightly unfocused. The referee stopped the fight.
Marc Castro (11-0) battered Chile’s Gonzalo Fuenzalida (12-3) round after round but found he was a tough nut to crack until the seventh round of their super featherweight clash. After dozens of blows it looked like the fighter from Fresno was about to run out of gas. But a few haymakers connected and referee Ray Corona stepped in to stop the match at 2:31 of the seventh round.
Los Angeles fighter Jaylen Walker (12-0-1) won the battle between knockout punchers as he stopped Jorge Villegas (14-2) in the second round. Walker was the sharper puncher and that sharpness proved the difference as he unloaded on the Mexican fighter after stunning him. The fight was stopped at 2:55 of the second round.
Criztec Bazaldua (3-0) stopped Pedro Cruz (3-4) in the fourth round of their lightweight match.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welter Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.
Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.
Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)
Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.
The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).
Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”
A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.
Other winners:
Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon
Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney
Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire
Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix
The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.
The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.
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Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday

To say that Mekhrubon Sanginov is excited to resume his boxing career would be a great understatement. Sanginov, ranked #9 by the WBA at 154 pounds before his hiatus, last fought on July 8, 2022.
He was in great form before his extended leave, having scored four straight fast knockouts, advancing his record to 13-0-1. Had he remained in Las Vegas, where he had settled after his fifth pro fight, his career may have continued on an upward trajectory, but a trip to his hometown of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, turned everything haywire. A run-in with a knife-wielding bully nearly cost him his life, stalling his career for nearly three full years.
Sanginov was exiting a restaurant in Dushanbe when he saw a man, plainly intoxicated, harassing another man, an innocent bystander. Mekhrubon intervened and was stabbed several times with a long knife. One of the puncture wounds came perilously close to puncturing his heart.
“After he stabbed me, I ran after him and hit him and caught him to hold for the police,” recollects Sanginov. “There was a lot of confusion when the police arrived. At first, the police were not certain what had happened.
“By the time I got to the hospital, I had lost two liters of blood, or so I was told. After I was patched up, one of the surgeons said to me, ‘Give thanks to God because he gave you a second life.’ It is like I was born a second time.”
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened in any city,” he adds. (A story about the incident on another boxing site elicited this comment from a reader: “Good man right there. World would be a better place if more folk were willing to step up when it counts.”)
Sanginov first laced on a pair of gloves at age 10 and was purportedly 105-14 as an amateur. Growing up, the boxer he most admired was Roberto Duran. “Muhammad Ali will always be the greatest and [Marvin] Hagler was great too, but Duran was always my favorite,” he says.
During his absence from the ring, Sanginov married a girl from Tajikistan and became a father. His son Makhmud was born in Las Vegas and has dual citizenship. “Ideally,” he says, “I would like to have three more children. Two more boys and the last one a daughter.”
He also put on a great deal of weight. When he returned to the gym, his trainer Bones Adams was looking at a cruiserweight. But gradually the weight came off – “I had to give up one of my hobbies; I love to eat,” he says – and he will be resuming his career at 154. “Although I am the same weight as before, I feel stronger now. Before I was more of a boy, now I am a full-grown man,” says Sanginov who turned 29 in February.
He has a lot of rust to shed. Because of all those early knockouts, he has answered the bell for only eight rounds in the last four years. Concordantly, his comeback fight on Saturday could be described as a soft re-awakening. Sanginov’s opponent Mahonri Montes, an 18-year pro from Mexico, has a decent record (36-10-2, 25 KOs) but has been relatively inactive and is only 1-3-1 in his last five. Their match at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, is slated for eight rounds.
On May 10, Ardreal Holmes (17-0) faces Erickson Lubin (26-2) on a ProBox card in Kissimmee, Florida. It’s an IBF super welterweight title eliminator, meaning that the winner (in theory) will proceed directly to a world title fight.
Sanginov will be watching closely. He and Holmes were scheduled to meet in March of 2022 in the main event of a ShoBox card on Showtime. That match fell out when Sanginov suffered an ankle injury in sparring.
If not for a twist of fate, that may have been Mekhrubon Sanginov in that IBF eliminator, rather than Ardreal Holmes. We will never know, but one thing we do know is that Mekhrubon’s world title aspirations were too strong to be ruined by a knife-wielding bully.
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