Diego Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) got a scare from a late surprise Steven Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs) but was able to win a 12-round unanimous decision in the headliner on Saturday night at Dazn Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Chelsea Ballroom, Las Vegas.
The fight showed that Pacheco can be broken quickly with nonstop pressure. Pacheco was lucky that Nelson, 36, was an older fighter who lacked power because he would have fallen apart if he could have punched.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Nelson got off to a quick start dominating the first three rounds. Pacheco hit with his power and controlled Nelson from the fourth to the tenth. In the final two rounds, a bloodied Nelson looked like a new man chasing after Pacheco and hitting him with big shots that kept the 23-year-old pinned.
The energy shown by the 36-year-old Nelson in the 11th and 12th rounds was impressive. That was what he lacked in the middle portion of the contest, where he gave the fight away.
The scores
117-111
117-111
117-111
 got a scare from a late surprising Steven Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs) but was able to survive to win a 12-round unanimous decision in){kind=link}