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Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco hopes to turn victory over Steven Nelson on Saturday into a title fight.
Pacheco – ranked No. 1 by the WBO, No. 3 by the WBA and No. 6 by the IBF – will meet Nelson at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on Saturday in a scheduled 12-rounder.
“I feel that after putting on a great performance with Steven Nelson on January 25, I’ll be closer to fighting for a world title,” said Pacheco. “Obviously, Canelo has three of the belts, and [William] Scull has the other [IBF] belt. Either one who’d like to give me the opportunity – that’d be amazing. Who will be the one that is going to give me the challenge? I don’t know, but hopefully this year I get to fight for a world title. I’m turning 24 this year and I think this is the right time. I feel that now I have amassed the strength. I'm more focused than ever, and I’m ready.”
Born in Los Angeles and fighting out of Renton, Washington, Pacheco bagged two 2024 wins, over the previously undefeated Shawn McCalman, whom he bested on points over 10, and Maciej Sulecki, whom he stopped in six.
“It excites me to look ahead to the next 12 months,” Pacheco added. “I have a lot of hunger to keep working and keep preparing for these new challenges like the one on January 25. I know Steven Nelson from being one of Terence Crawford’s fighters. I know he’s from Omaha, Nebraska, and that he is 36 years old. That’s pretty much it. For me, he’s just another opponent. I’m coming in to knock him out. Having a top pound-for-pound fighter like Crawford 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 sidelines, but that is pretty much it.”
Pacheco felt that Nelson’s experience boxing on the August bill headlined by Crawford-Israil Madrimov – when Nelson stopped Marcos Vazquez Rodriguez – will stand him in good stead ahead of Saturday’s main event.
“I feel that the Crawford-Madrimov pay-per-view was a great experience for him, and maybe that sense of confidence made him think that he was ready for someone like me. But on January 25, he’s going to have a big surprise, and he’s going to find out he’s not ready to face someone like me. He’s never been in the ring with a fighter like me.”
