Diego Pacheco hopes to fight Edgar Berlanga later this year, but Shawn McCalman looks to spoil those 2024 plans.
The Washington-based Pacheco and Colorado’s McCalman will be the co-main event of a Matchroom Boxing show DAZN will stream from Fontainebleau, Las Vegas on April 6. In the main event, unbeaten rising star Richardson Hitchins takes on Gustavo Lemos in a scheduled 12-round bout.
The 30-year-old McCalman (15-0, 7 KOs) shut out Mexican veteran Cristian Olivas (22-10, 19 KOs) over eight rounds on December 16 at The Armory in Minneapolis. In his previous contest, McCalman, who trains out of A1 Boxing Academy in the Denver suburb of Aurora, defeated Money Powel IV (13-2, 8 KOs) in an eight-round unanimous decision last August 18 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.
The 6’4″ Pacheco fought past the eighth round for the first time in his career on November 18, when he knocked out Marcelo Coceres in the ninth round of a slated 12-round contest at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. In the meantime, McCalman will take a step up in competition when he squares off against Pacheco. The 30-year-old has yet to compete in any 10- or 12-round bouts, but that is about to change, and McCalman says he’s ready for the moment.
[This is] the biggest fight of my career to date. I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he told Fights ATW.
McCalman’s biggest win to date was a six-round unanimous decision win over battle-tested veteran Vaughn Alexander (18-8-1, 11 KOs) in July 2021. In December, the 38-year-old Alexander notably went the distance with unbeaten super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs). “That win showed me that, number one, I have world-class poise, which can make or break a fighter. The poise that you have or don’t have can lead you down some dark paths once things get rough in the ring.
“[Alexander] was somebody who’s been in the ring with current and future world champions. Any kind of fighter that you can name or think of as far as this stage of their career, he had been [the ring] with. For me to have a victory over him is not something that anybody should take lightly, and I definitely don’t take it lightly.” Alexander also lost an eight-round split decision to the current unified 160-pound world titleholder Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in November 2018, marking the Kazakh’s fourth professional bout.
While McCalman acknowledges that he has flown under the radar for much of his career, he firmly believes in himself and plans to show off his boxing finesse on fight night against Pacheco before a packed house.
A big double header coming to Las Vegas on April 6 🎰@HeIsRichardson fights 29-0 Gustavo Daniel Lemos in an IBF World Title final eliminator and @realdpacheco takes on 15-0 Shawn McCalman!#HitchinsLemos | @DAZNBoxing | #PachecoMcCalman pic.twitter.com/CEYljagH6G
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 23, 2024
“I do know I have world-class abilities and world-class skill just because I’ve been in the ring with world-class guys and have been able to hold my own and dominate,” McCalman said.
McCalman has worked with fighters such as Terence Crawford, Sergey Kovalev, Steven Nelson, Jarrett Hurd, Troy Isley, Bryant Jennings, and Edgar Berlanga. “You name ’em, I’ve been in there with ’em.”
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