Diego Pacheco surpassed his career high in rounds for the second straight fight.

This time, it resulted in the end of his nine-fight knockout streak as Pacheco outpointed Shawn McCalman over ten rounds. Scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Pacheco in their battle of unbeaten super middleweights Saturday evening at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

“[McCalman] a tricky fighter,” Pacheco told DAZN’s Chris Mannix after his first career fight to go ten rounds. “He’s got skills and had some power as well. He’s a tricky fighter and that’s all there is to it.

A slow-moving opening round proved effective for Colorado’s McCalman, a long-shot underdog headed into their DAZN-aired co-feature. Pacheco, The Ring’s No. 8-rated super middleweight, struggled to defend against the jab or find his offensive rhythm. McCalman was aware of the incoming and avoided most of the early shots from the South Central L.A. product.

Pacheco wasn’t always able to say the same.

A left hook by McCalman slammed across Pacheco’s chin in round two. It was the most telling blow of the night to that point and through the next several rounds. Pacheco took the shot well, interestingly in one of his better rounds during the first half of the fight. An effort was made by head trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. to remind the 23-year-old to fight with controlled aggression.

McCalman continued to find success with his jab, body work and movement. Pacheco was upwards of an -1800 favorite headed into the night but failed to make the necessary adjustments to disrupt McCalman’s momentum through four rounds.

Pacheco picked up the pace in the middle rounds and slowly began to force his fight. McCalman proved game for the cause and took the lead during several exchanges. He was warned for using his shoulder to bump Pacheco

Both fighters enjoyed success in a high-octane seventh round. Pacheco slipped a punch and came right back with a right uppercut to snap back McCalman’s head. McCalman countered with a left hook and later landed an overhand right on Pacheco’s unprotected chin.

Pacheco was more defensively sound in the eighth. McCalman began to telegraph his punches. His wide, overhand rights left him open for Pacheco counters and frequently held on the inside.

McCalman was warned by referee Robert Hoyle for repeated holding in the ninth round. Pacheco found his range at close quarters and slammed home a left uppercut. McCalman was briefly shook and again from a Pacheco flurry inside the final ten seconds.

The referee issued a final warning to McCalman for excessive holding in the tenth and final round. Pacheco capitalized on his opponent’s frustration and let his hands go on the inside. He ended the fight with combinations and straight shots down the middle to seal his latest win.

The rugged affair was reflected in the Compubox punch statistics, which featured low output from both boxers. Pacheco (21-0, 18 knockouts) landed 86-of-260 total punches (33.1 percent). McCalman (15-1, 7 KOs) threw 27 more punches, but landed just 69-of-287 (24.0 percent) on the night.

Pacheco knocked out his previous nine opponents. He went a career-high nine rounds to stop former title challenger Marcelo Coceres last November, though he struggled prior to the stoppage.

The threat of a knockout never surfaced on Saturday.

“Some fights are going to get ugly. Some fights are going to be slower paced than others,” noted Pacheco. “You gotta do what you gotta do to get the ‘W.’ That’s what we did [on Saturday].”

Pacheco-McCalman aired in the chief support to the Richardson Hitchins-Gustavo Lemos IBF 140-pound title eliminator.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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