Diego Pacheco headlined for the third straight fight on Saturday night – but this time the stakes were raised for the super middleweight stud as he welcomed Marcelo Coceres to his Los Angeles hometown, as they clashed at YouTube Theater.

Pacheco (20-0 17 KOs) capped 2023 with a third KO win as a bill topper, and this time in front of his hometown fans. The LA talent pummeled Jack Cullen into submission in four rounds in Liverpool, England, in April, and was at his scintillating best in his last outing in July where he blitzed the dangerous Manuel Gallegos inside four rounds in Monterrey, Mexico – ending matters with a vicious attack after flooring Gallegos in the fourth with a trademark body shot and became the first man to stop the Mexican later in the round.

The 22 year old stepped up once again against the Argentine Coceres (32-6-1 18 KOs) who has previously tested Billy Joe Saunders and Edgar Berlanga.

After overcoming some tough moments, Pacheco knocked Coceres out with an uppercut in the ninth round.

Now the unbeaten puncher wants to face another banger in Berlanga.

"I want Edgar Berlanga next after this fight. I think I knock him out cold," Pacheco said.

“To be doing this at 22 is cool. I thought maybe I would headline in a World title fight when I was 24 or 25..... it’s the YouTube Theater, hopefully down the line it will be the SoFi Stadium. It’s a five-minute drive from my mom’s house.

“It’s been a great year for me. I unexpectedly became the main event in the UK in March, and I rose to the occasion and put on a great performance. The experience was great.

“I grew up in South Central LA. I always feel I owe this to my parents. They sacrificed a lot and believed in me before anyone else. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am. I come from a low-income family so for my dad to get me to all the amateur tournaments meant a lot and made me think ‘how I am not going to give my all when they have sacrificed so much for me?’”