Press Release:
Diego Pacheco will defend his USWBC and WBO International Super-Middleweight titles against Steven Nelson at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Saturday, January 25, live worldwide on DAZN – with Cuban Olympic star Andy Cruz taking on Omar Salcido and Ernesto Mercado facing Jose Pedraza on his Matchroom debut.
Pacheco (22-0 18 KOs) is closing in on World title action as the #1 ranked contender with the WBO and sitting pretty at #3 in the WBC and #4 with the IBF. The LA star headlines for the sixth show in a row and for the second time in Las Vegas, where he saw off Shawn McCalman on points in April, before returning to his home turf in August to record his 18th win inside the distance with a sickening body shot KO win over Maciej Sulecki – performances that further bolstered his standing as one of the hottest talents in the game, which was confirmed by ESPN ranking Pacheco #2 in their list of the top fighters under 25, second only to pound-for-pound star and stablemate Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
Nelson (20-0 16 KOs) has been hunting a big fight and now gets the chance to derail Pacheco’s rise to the top and move himself into the great position that his young foe has reached. The 36 year old last tasted action in August in Los Angeles with a fifth-round stoppage win over Marcos Rodriguez on the undercard of his good friend and fellow Omaha fighter, Terence Crawford.
Like Pacheco, Cruz and Mercado are targeting World title action in 2025, and they can lay down an early marker to land the big fights in crunch clashes against Salcido and Pedraza respectively.
Cruz (4-0 2 KOs) is ranked #4 with the WBA and the IBF at 135lbs and will be knocking on the door for a World title shot even louder if he can claim a fifth win in the pro ranks in Sin City. The 2020 Olympic gold medal man picked up a pair of impressive wins in 2024, first locking out Brayan Zamarripa over ten rounds in Orlando in February and then recording his second win inside the distance with a seventh-round stoppage of Antonio Moran in Los Angeles in August.
The fifth man to try to halt Cruz’s progress is Mexican Salcido (20-1 14 KOs). Salcido will enter the bout full of confidence after stopping Chris Colbert in the ninth round of their clash in Florida in October, and the 24 year old can add an even more impressive scalp to his resume in the shape of Cruz.
Mercado (16-0 15 KOs) gets a second chance to make his Matchroom debut in Las Vegas, as his planned bow under Eddie Hearn in Philadelphia was axed after his opponent blew the weight. ‘Tito’ will be eager to make up for lost time, and after landing three KO wins from three fights in 2024, the 23 year old will look to kick off his 2025 in style against the Puerto Rican.
Former two-weight World ruler Pedraza (29-6-1 14 KOs) boasts an enviable CV littered with great names, and the 35 year old will be looking to use all that experience to derail Mercado’s progress. ‘Sniper’ held the IBF Super-Featherweight title from 2015 to 2017 and the WBO Lightweight crown in 2018 and having shared the ring with modern greats like Vasiliy Lomachenko and Gervonta Davis, Pedraza will be out to prove he still has ambitions at the very top level.
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