We could have something of a sleeper fight that thrills us all on Saturday night, this as unbeaten punchers Diego Pacheco and Steven Nelson fight in Las Vegas. The two super-middleweights will put their unbeaten records on the line in a fight that should perhaps have generated more hype and headlines. Pacheco, 22-0(18) wants a world title shot – either against the main man at 168, Canelo Alvarez, or against William Scull, who holds one belt – and he feels a win over Nelson will get him “one step closer” to what he wants.
Nelson, 20-0(16) and the significantly older man at age 36 to Pacheco’s 23, is guided by pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford, but as Pacheco said to The Ring, Crawford can’t do the fighting for him. Pacheco is an exciting fighter, and some people feel he can go all the way. Nelson, known as “So Cold,” is a fine fighter himself, and plenty of people do see Saturday’s fight as pretty much a 50 50 affair. Pacheco is coming off a stoppage win over Maciej Sulecki. Nelson is coming off a stoppage win over Marcos Vazquez.
“I know Steven Nelson from [him] being one of Terence Crawford’s fighters. I known he’s from Omaha, Nebraska, and that he is 36 years old. That’s pretty much it for me,” Pacheco said. “For me, he’s just another opponent. I’m coming to knock him out. It makes it a fun fight. Having a pound-for-pound fighter in your corner is always a good thing, but he can’t get in there and fight for him. He can be a good cheerleader on the side, but that’s pretty much it. I feel that after putting on a great performance with Steve Nelson, I’ll be closer to fighting for a world title. Obviously, Canelo has three of the belts, and Scull has the other belt. Either one who’d like to give me opportunity – that’d be amazing.”
Hopefully, for his sake, Pacheco is not looking past Nelson. This fight could prove to be the toughest test yet for both men. We could even get a great one here. A KO or stoppage is a strong possibility, and Pacheco, tall at 6’4,” to Nelson’s 5’10” is regarded as a real puncher, while Nelson too can bang with authority. As Pacheco says, it should be a fun fight.
I’m going with the younger man here, but it won’t be easy. Maybe we will get something special from this fight, a solid piece of match-making for sure.
