168 contender Pacheco cuts, outpoints Nelson in tough fight
Andy Cruz routs Omar Salcido; Tito Mercado destroys Jose Pedraza
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Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco may not have been as sharp as he and his team wanted him to be but got the job done against Steven Nelson, taking his undefeated record in a hard-fought unanimous decision victory on Saturday night.
All three judges scored the entertaining fight, which headlined the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, 117-111.
“Steven Nelson is a good fighter,” said Pacheco, who retained a pair of regional belts and his status as the WBO No. 1 contender at 168 pounds. “It wasn’t my best performance but I felt great. Went in there, boxed, did what I had to do to get the win. We’re here to stay. This is only the beginning. I felt I could have done a lot better, but Steven Nelson is a good fighter. He came to do his job. But DP came and did what he had to do.
“Steven Nelson was a guy who was calling me out and I told him we can run it. We gave the fans a helluva fight.”
