Diego Pacheco made it clear in his post-fight interview on Saturday night that he’ll fight anybody put in front of him. But Pacheco’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, made it clear that the 23-year-old is still one or two fights away from being ready for boxing’s superstar unified super middleweight champion, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Nonetheless, Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) won a wide unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Steven Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs) at the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, with all three judges scoring the 12-round contest 117-111 — nine rounds to three — in favor of Pacheco.
Nelson started the fight well on the front foot, pushing Pacheco back with his pressure and offense, however, the tide turned in the fourth round when Pacheco opened up a cut over Nelson’s left eye with a powerful right hand. Pacheco then put together a dominant spell from rounds five to 10, landing numerous right hands and uppercuts on Nelson and buzzing him on multiple occasions.
But Nelson weathered the storm and managed to stand up to the power of Pacheco. He finished the fight well, taking the final two rounds and hurting Pacheco in the 12th round with the left hook. The left hook has been the punch to rock Pacheco in previous fights, most famously against Marcelo Esteban Coceres, who landed at least a dozen power left hooks on Pacheco in their November 2023 clash.
Even still, Pacheco showed improvements defensively on Saturday night and showcased that he is ready for some of boxing’s bigger names at 168 pounds. The Californian is the WBO’s No. 1-ranked contender for Alvarez and is firmly in the mix to face him in May, though another fight mentioned for Pacheco was Edgar Berlanga; Pacheco and Berlanga are both signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
In the night’s co-feature, Cuban Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs) defeated the vastly more experienced Omar Salcido (20-2, 14 KOs) in a one-sided unanimous decision.
Get full results and highlights of the Pacheco vs. Nelson fight card below, as Uncrowned’s live play-by-play of the main card.
Main Card
Super middleweight: Diego Pacheco def. Steven Nelson via unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 117-111)
Lightweight: Andy Cruz def. Omar Salcido via unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 98-92)
Super lightweight: Ernesto “Tito” Mercado def. Jose Pedraza via fourth-round TKO | Watch video
Super lightweight: Leonardo Rubalcava & Israel Mercado fight to a majority decision draw (74-76, 75-75, 75-75)
Prelims
Super welterweight: Nishant Dev def. Alton Wiggins via first-round KO | Watch video
Lightweight: Harley Mederos def. Arturo de Isla via third-round KO | Watch video
Lightweight: Zaquin Moses def. Mario Garcia via first-round TKO due to an injury sustained by Garcia
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER62 updates
Pacheco vs. Berlanga possible fight
Diego Pacheco and Edgar Berlanga are two top 10 super middleweights with Matchroom, that is a fight that can happen. It would be Mexico (well Mexican-American) vs. Puerto Rico.
Berlanga’s return is targeted for March 8th in Puerto Rico.
Hearn says Pacheco 1-2 fights away from Canelo
Eddie Hearn: “We are No. 1, we need to be called as mandatory to Canelo Alvarez. We are still probably 1-2 fights away [from being] ready for that level. That was a good test tonight, now we need one of those big names. Charlo, Plant, Berlanga, Munguia, Mbilli — that’s the next step.”
Pacheco beats Nelson via UD
Diego Pacheco takes a wide unanimous decision (117-111 X3) over Steven Nelson to retain his No. 1 ranking with the WBO.
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 12
Nelson HURT Pacheco with a left hook early in round 12 and followed it up with a strong right hand, it won’t be enough for Nelson though. Pacheco responds well later in the round with his own left hook, and a right hand that lifted Nelson off one feet. Good, competitive fight, and a great finish!
10-9 Nelson, 115-113 Pacheco
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 11
Good round for Nelson, who landed with a left hook and a right hand early. Pacheco’s biggest flaw in this fight is how little effort he is putting in pushing the pace. Pacheco connected with a pair of right uppercuts late, but not much work throughout the round.
10-9 Nelson, 106-103 Pacheco
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 10
The pro-Pacheco crowd started to erupt in round 10!
Pacheco ROCKED Nelson with a looping right hand. He followed it up with a right hook, and a left hook to the body. A similar right hand to the one that rocked Nelson followed a few seconds later, but somehow Nelson took it — he has some chin.
10-9 Pacheco, 97-93 Pacheco
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 8
A left hook from Pacheco just after the 1-minute mark landed heavy on Nelson, he took it well though. Pacheco is starting to control the fight with his jab and long right hands. A 1-2-left hook combination from Pacheco landed in the final minute, followed by another right hand from Pacheco.
10-9 Pacheco, 77-75 Pacheco
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 7
Best round of the fight for Diego Pacheco!
He is starting to land with the right hand at range and the right uppercut up close. Nelson looking for that left hook that Pacheco has notoriously been susceptible to in the past.
Nelson was caught and hurt with an uppercut late in the round. A left uppercut broke the guard as well.
10-9 Pacheco, 67-66 Pacheco
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 6
A pair of right hands connect for Nelson early. Nelson continues to have success with the jab. Pacheco finished the round strong with a couple of hooks to the body. Nelson probably edged that round on activity, Pacheco is just waiting too long to let his hands go.
10-9 Nelson 57-57
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 5
Pacheco really started to pick up the pace in the fifth. Nelson’s cut is getting worse, Pacheco is trying that right hand to land where Nelson’s cut has opened up. Nelson told in the corner he gave up the round, the tide could be turning here.
10-9 Pacheco, 48-47 Pacheco
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 4
Nelson is still dictating the action with his jab and single right hands, forcing Pacheco back.
Pacheco opens up a cut over Nelson’s left eye with a right hand. Good left hook from Pacheco later in the round.
10-9 Pacheco, 38-38
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 3
Pacheco still not doing much in the third round, although he has set his feet a little. The dynamic has changed now with Nelson on the backfoot forcing Pacheco to move forward. Nelson with some consistent clipping work on the inside. Pacheco ends the third with a left hook, and a right uppercut.
10-9 Nelson, 29-28 Nelson
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 2
Nelson is on the front foot early, while Pacheco is circling the ring with a more passive approach. Pacheco landed with a solid right uppercut counter earlier in the round, and a right hand in the second half. Nelson jabbing to the head and body, Pacheco getting out of the way of a lot of these.
10-9 Pacheco, 19-19
Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson – Round 1
It’s a feeling-out process early. Nelson is trying the right-hand counter, which is deflected by Pacheco’s shoulder. Pacheco throwing the jab that is falling just short.
10-9 Nelson
Last time out for Diego Pacheco
‼️ Diego Pacheco becomes the FIRST fighter to stop Maciej Sulecki as he takes out the Polish fighter with a body shot in the first half of the fight.pic.twitter.com/0Y71capyow
Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs), the WBO’s No. 1 rated contender at super middleweight, faces undefeated Terence Crawford protégé Steven Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs).
At just 23 years old, Pacheco is closing in on a shot at boxing’s biggest star, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. But first, he must get past the biggest test of his career.
For the 36-year-old Nelson, this is a must-win opportunity and may be his only chance at securing a world title shot.
Andy Cruz beats Omar Salcido via UD
Andy Cruz takes a wide unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 98-92) over Omar Salcido to move to 5-0, and go one step closer to a shot at the world title.
Andy Cruz vs. Omar Salcido – Round 10
Andy Cruz ROCKS Omar Salcido at the end of the final round with a right hand. Salcido is all over the place, he backs up, and Cruz starts to unload. Salcido is saved by the bell though. Good performance from Cruz.
10-9 Cruz, 100-90 Cruz
Andy Cruz vs. Omar Salcido – Round 9
A nice straight right hand from Cruz to open the penultimate round. Salcido finds success with that left hook, and a right hand a little while later. Cruz has won all of these rounds, but Salcido has had his moments throughout.
Cruz BUCKLES Salicdo again with a right hand. He fails to really follow it up, though, and lets Salcido recover.
