Terence Crawford was not happy with how his teammate and fellow Omaha, Nebraska native Steven Nelson failed to capitalize on the mistakes in super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco’s bout last Saturday night at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
The left hook
Former four-division world champion Crawford says he yelled at Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs) to throw his left hook the entire fight because Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) turned and exposed his back with his defensive tactics.
All Steven could say in his defense was that he was cut over his left eye in the third and saw yellow from that side.
Nelson, 36, did not capitalize on this mistake. Indeed, he fought the wrong fight for the first ten rounds, and it wasn’t until the 11th and 12th that he went after the lanky 6’4′ stork-like Pacheco and overwhelmed him with punches and pressure. It was too late, and Diego, 23, survived to win a 12-round unanimous decision.
Too little, too late
However, that didn’t stop him from fighting hard in the last two rounds to make it. He should have been on the attack much earlier instead of waiting until late in the fight to go after Pacheco.
The scores were 117-111, 117-111 and 117-111.
Pacheco vs. Nelson Final Punch Statistics
– Diego Pacheco – 132 of 464 shots for 28.4%
– Steven Nelson – 77 of 560 shots for 14.8%
Terence Crawford: “I tried to tell you the whole fight (to throw the hook). He (Diego Pacheco) continued like this (turned his back to him). Drop the f**** hook,” Terence Crawford said in the locker room, lecturing Steven Nelson for not capitalizing on the openings that were there all night in his fight against Diego Pacheco.
Steven Nelson: “I couldn’t see out of his eye (left). It was orange and yellow. So, this s*** here. I was reluctant to get caught up here. So that’s why it was hard to do that s***. The blood. You know, right after I got cut in the third round, it all started.”
Post fight investigation inside the locker room of Steven Nelson 🔊 #PachecoNelson pic.twitter.com/M7V8kEMwrQ
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 26, 2025
