Diego Pacheco likes WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli's chances against Canelo Alvarez better than the oddsmakers do.
Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) and Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) are set to square off October 31 in Saudi Arabia to headline a "Mexico vs. The World" show on DAZN.
Alvarez has been installed as a -260 betting favorite, while Mbilli is a +200 underdog, according to DraftKings.
Pacheco, The Ring's No. 6-ranked super middleweight contender, sees the contest a lot closer and even believes he can be a strong candidate to eventually beat Alvarez.
"I expect a good, hard fight," Pacheco told The Ring. "I think it's like a 50-50 fight. Canelo still has it in him to beat a couple guys, but I feel like there are some young and hungry fighters like myself who can give him a really hard time and could also beat him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEiX7fjeIyg
"Canelo, my respect to him; he had a great run. We'll see what happens when he fights Mbilli. We won't know until they meet, but Canelo's experience should edge him to victory."
Pacheco (26-0, 19 KOs), a 25-year-old Los Angeles native, surely needs some more seasoning to stand toe-to-toe and slug it out with the Mexican superstar.
Pacheco is coming off an 11th-round knockout of Immanuwel Aleem in July at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Pacheco has his eyes on Alvarez's teammate, WBA champion Jaime Munguia. If Pacheco were to eventually get the fight and successfully pass the test, it could very well set up the scrap he's looking for against the former two-time undisputed 168-pound king.
But first, Pacheco is headed toward a fight against Darius Fulghum on November 14 in Los Angeles.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.
