The title became available following Terence Crawford’s retirement from the division. The bout was formally ordered on December 20, more than two weeks after the WBC issued its own order for Sheeraz to face interim champion Christian Mbilli. While both routes remain technically active, the WBO option has emerged as the preferred path for Sheeraz’s team.
That preference marks a slight shift. Earlier this year, Sheeraz’s management publicly described Mbilli as the obvious choice. Since then, momentum has tilted toward Pacheco, in part due to promotional alignment and longer term commercial considerations.
Sheeraz fought Carlos Adames to a twelve round draw in February 2025, a bout that proved to be his final appearance at 160 pounds. He moved up to super middleweight shortly after and made an immediate impact, stopping Edgar Berlanga in five rounds last July in New York. It was his first fight at 168 pounds and his most convincing performance to date.
Pacheco, meanwhile, completed a steady but uneven 2025 campaign. He opened the year with a disciplined twelve round decision over Steven Nelson in Las Vegas. A low energy points win over Trevor McCumby followed in July. He finished the year with a decision victory over Kevin Lele Sadjo in December, though he was dropped during the fight before recovering to secure the result.
The Sheeraz Pacheco matchup has previously been floated for a Riyadh Season card. Sheeraz has fought exclusively under that banner in recent outings and remains closely tied to its decision makers. Scheduling issues elsewhere on the calendar have complicated those plans, but interest remains.
If no agreement is reached by the new deadline, the fight will proceed to a purse bid open to all registered WBO promoters. A minimum bid of $300,000 is required. The winning purse would be split evenly, or adjusted to a sixty forty split in favor of the visiting fighter if staged abroad.
At this stage, the extension reads less like a delay and more like a quiet signal of which route Sheeraz intends to take.
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