Undefeated 168-pound contender Diego Pacheco will face Stephen Nelson on January 25th in Las Vegas. Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) wants to stay busy in 2025, and the fight against the undefeated no. 13 WBO Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) is one way to do that.
Lance Pugmire (@pugboxing) reports that Pacheco will fight Nelson next on January 25th in Las Vegas. This is another step forward in the career of the 23-year-old Pacheco.
This is a decent fight for Pacheco, but not one he's interested in. He wants to challenge for a world title, but he may look to His Excellency Turki Alalshih to make it happen.
Pacheco is in position to challenge unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez for his titles. However, he may not get a chance to fight the Mexican star if he chooses to serve him. One thing the 6'4″ Pacheco has going for him is that he hasn't looked unbeatable in his six-year career, and he's a young 23 years old.
It won't be surprising if Canelo picks Pacheco if he looks weak in the Nelson fight. He can't afford to look good against Nelson because it doesn't pay off
The 36-year-old Nelson is long in the tooth and has yet to fight anyone of note in his eight-year professional career. Die-hard fans rate Nelson highly, but he has yet to beat anyone to deserve the praise. He is 36 years old.
Steven Nelson's Recent Fights:
– Marcos Vasquez
– Disappointed legend Montgomery
– James Ballard
– DeAndre Ware
– Cem Kilic
Those five fights ate up four years of Nelson's career until 2024, and he's too old to fight infrequently against fighters at that level.
Pacheco is ranked #1 WBO, #3 WBC and #4 IBF. He is in a position to challenge Canelo's WBO if the sanctioning body so orders. Nelson is ranked #13 WBO. He would be higher if he was more active and fighting for the quality opposition fans have heard.
Eddie Hearn promoted Pacheco's recent victories
– Maciej Sulecki
– Sean McCalman
– Marcelo Coceres
– Manuel Gallegos
– Jack Cullen
Nelson needs to start moving his career because he is too old to fight cleanup. He was lucky here to pick Pacheco, but once this fight is over, he could be right back where he started, fighting unknown opponents for the rest of his career.
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