Diego Pacheco stayed unbeaten with a fifth round stoppage of Enrique Collazo, capping an overall entertaining set of prelim fights on the Canelo vs GGG 3 undercard.
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Pacheco (16-0, 13 KO) and Collazo (16-3-1, 11 KO) had probably the worst of the four fights from an entertainment standpoint, with both pretty cautious in the early going, but the 21-year-old Pacheco was able to impressively close the show, dropping Collazo, 33, in the fifth round and then forcing a stoppage from the referee moments later.
It was not a fight where Pacheco, a 6’4” super middleweight prospect, had any trouble at all, really, other than just not doing much with Collazo for the first three rounds in particular. But it’s a solid win for him and he got the job done, leaving no doubt; you could argue referee Celestino Ruiz stopped it a bit earlier than necessary, but Collazo wasn’t steady and was taking shots, too.
More results and highlights
- Marc Castro KO-5 Kevin Montiel: A good effort from Montiel (7-2-2, 3 KO), who had some moments and came to win here, but Castro (8-0, 6 KO) was just better and he got him — boy, did he get him — with a fifth round uppercut that ended things instantly. Montiel was eventually up and around and doing OK. Castro is one of Matchroom’s favorite prospects and looks as though he’s settling in at 135, which needed to happen with him having repeated trouble making 130. Last three fights have been as a lightweight and he’s progressing nicely. He’s 23, so not a total baby in the game, but still a lot of miles to go. You’ll see him plenty more on undercards for a long while before he ever truly steps up, most likely, but in a year or so he could be in something a bit more dangerous, and that’d be fine.
- Aaron Aponte D-8 Fernando Molina: A debatable outcome here, as most draws are, of course. Scores were 76-74 Molina, 76-74 Aponte, and 75-75, so it was a split draw. BLH had it 77-73 for Molina, which was maybe a round generous in his favor, but I have a hard time seeing this even or in Aponte’s favor, I think he got the shaft here. But I could be wrong, of course. It’s happened before. Aponte (6-0-1, 2 KO) and Aponte (8-0-1, 3 KO) each get a blemish but don’t lose their “0.” It was a good fight, too, aggressive matchmaking on both sides that paid off with a test of these guys’ skills and mettle.
- Anthony Herrera UD-5 Delvin McKinley: A technical decision here, as the fight was halted after 19 seconds of the fifth round, due to a clash of heads that hurt McKinley. McKinley (4-4-1, 4 KO) was game in the first couple rounds, but the New Orleans native was badly outclassed in the third and fourth by Herrera (3-0-1, 2 KO), a 21-year-old with a good amateur background as part of Team USA, who did stumble with a draw in his last outing on June 10 in Mexico. He looked better here than in that fight. He may not be a true “blue chipper,” but he’s a real prospect with an entertaining style, a swarmer with skills and some pop. He’s looking to settle in at 115 to get his pro career going for real.