A couple of L.A. boys, Diego Pacheco and Anthony Olascuaga, are lacing up in front of their hoods this weekend.

When I see Pacheco and Olascuaga I think of NWA’s lyrics to “Boyz in the Hood”

“Cruisin’ down tha street in my ’64
Jackin’ tha freaks clocking tha dough
Went to tha park tah get the scoop
Knuckleheads out there come shootin’ some hoop.”

South Central’s Pacheco (26-0, 19 KOs) defends the regional super middleweight titles against Darius Fulghum (15-1-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 14, at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

“Darius is a great fighter and I’m ready to put on a great show,” Pacheco said of his foe.

Pacheco is back in his hood and this time he has a fighter from Houston, Texas in front of him in Fulghum. The super middleweights are heating up again and Pacheco and Fulghum need each other to prove they belong in the conversation for best super middleweight.

“I want to give a big shout out to all my people here in L.A. who bought tickets,” said Pacheco at the press conference. “I’m never going to let the city down.”

Space has opened up in the 168-pound super middleweight division after Terence Crawford defeated Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the undisputed titles a year ago. Then Crawford retired, and suddenly all the titles are available. Canelo just recently re-acquired the WBC belt with a blazing victory over Christian Mbilli.

Pacheco and Fulghum are near the top of the heap. Yet, others like Lester Martinez and Hamzah Sheeraz are mentioned more than the two American fighters. On Saturday, they are going to take care of that oversight.

“These two have an opportunity to put their names at the top of the list,” said Eddie Hearn, promoter for Matchroom Boxing.

This past July, Pacheco knocked out Immanuwel Aleem, who went the distance with Martinez.

Fulghum roared back to contention with a third-round knockout of Cuba’s Yoanki Urrutia that put him back in the conversation. Now the Texan needs to pass through Pacheco in his own hood.

That’s tough to do.

Fulghum had suffered a loss and a draw last year and some doubt may have crept into his mind. But the knockout win over Urrutia proved Fulghum still had talent and now he faces the biggest challenge of all with Pacheco.

“I don’t think anyone has ever seen the best version of me,” said Fulghum, whose only loss was to Bek “the Bully” Melikuziev last year. “I’m ready to show that on Nov. 14.”

Also on the card is another L.A. fighter, Anthony Olascuaga (12-1, 9 KOs). The WBO flyweight world titlist defends against Colombian knockout artist Yuberjen Martinez (7-0, 7 KOs).

Martinez, 35, is a longtime amateur and Olympian who has found the pro game to his liking. No opponent has been able to hear the final bell.

Olascuaga trains with Rudy Hernandez and, under his guidance, has shown the ability to quickly analyze and dissect fighters from all over the world. The L.A. native has fought seven times in Japan and has never fought in front of a hometown audience.

Will he get stage fright?

Zuffa in Riyadh

Middleweight champion Carlos Adames, who was recently signed by Zuffa Boxing, will make his first appearance on Saturday Nov. 14, at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Zuffa card will be streamed on Paramount+.

Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs) will not be defending the WBC middleweight title but will be facing Gerome Warburton (18-2-2) in a 10-round fight at super middleweight. His last fight was a knockout win over Ammo Williams this past March. Before that, he fought Hamzah Sheeraz to a split draw.

Other Zuffa signees on this card are Jason Moloney and Ivan Ortiz.

Devin Haney vs Laim Paro

Top Rank announced WBO welterweight titlist Devin Haney (33-0) will challenge IBF titlist Liam Paro (28-1) in a unification battle that takes place on Dec. 19, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif. DAZN will stream the Top Rank card.

The co-feature has former champion Brian Norman Jr. (29-1, 23 KOs) facing Abel Ramos (29-6-3, 22 KOs) as the co-main event.

Tickets went on sale today

Fights to Watch  (all times Pacific Time)

Sat. Paramount+ 8 a.m. Carlos Adames (25-1-1) vs Gerome Warburton (18-2-2).

Sat. DAZN, TNT 5 p.m. Diego Pacheco (26-0) vs Darius Fulghum (15-1-1); Anthony Olascuaga (12-1) vs Yuberjen Martinez (7-0).

To comment on this article in the Fight Forum, please CLICK HERE