Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. says his fighter Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) will face Steven Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) in their 12-round headliner this Saturday, January 25th at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is not overlooked. Chelsea Ballroom in Las Vegas. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN.
(Source: Matchroom Boxing)
Jose Sr. says they could have fought anyone, but they wanted Nelson, 36, who isn’t exactly young for a nine-year pro. His long amateur career meant he had a late start in the professional ranks, but he has the talent to potentially win this fight if he can take the 23-year-old Pacheco’s chin. We saw that Diego had some close chances.
On the undercard, lightweight contender Andy Cruz will take on Omar Salcido in a 10-round bout. Cruz wants to challenge WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson for his belt.
No look at Nelson
“You don’t want to fight a fighter like Diego Pacheco. “Canelo has everything to lose and nothing to gain,” Jose Benavidez Sr. agreed Sean Zittel about how Canelo Alvarez will probably never agree to fight Diego Pacheco.
“That will never happen because Canelo wants to fight fighters who come to you. Fighters who didn’t look that impressive. Diego Pacheco has good straight punches. He’s young, has good legs and strength,” Jose Sr. said.
“He is a good fighter. He is strong and relies on his power. That’s why we don’t underestimate Steven Nelson. We take him very seriously because he wants the same thing that Diego Pacheco wants. He wants to beat us, to win the big battles. We want to beat him to win the big fights. It will be very entertaining for me and people.
“We tried to do an eliminator with Christian Mbilli. We signed the paper and he said, “No, he wants to fight another fight.” We’re ready. These are the fights that will get us there. The dangerous battles that need to be proven to people.
“We’re proving ourselves and focusing on Steven Nelson. He is a very dangerous fighter. Then we look at our options. “Right now we are 100% committed to Steve Nelson,” Benavidez Sr. said.
