Diego Pacheco Retains WBO #1 Spot with Win Over Steven Nelson
The second card of the night for Matchroom saw Diego Pacheco retain his WBO #1 spot with a decision win over Nelson through twelve rounds, and in chief support saw Andy Cruz continue his rapid development.
PACHECO Retains #1 Spot
Diego Pacheco retained his #1 WBO spot with a unanimous decision win over the competitive Steven Nelson. All three scorecards read 117-111, with a valid argument for them to be somewhat closer. Steven Nelson saw his success, but the better, more consistent work came from Pacheco. Steven Nelson deserves huge credit for a gutsy performance, throwing until the final bell. He has surely earned another big fight next. However, Pacheco was just too good, and in retaining that WBO #1 spot the end goal Canelo fight edges ever so closer. After the fight, Pacheco said: “Any of the guys in the top 5 can get it”. His promoter Eddie Hearn claimed the fight vs Nelson was “Exactly what we wanted. Exactly what we needed”.
Andy Cruz Continues Rapid Development
Lightweight Andy ‘Diamond’ Cruz continued his insanely fast rise to the top with a wide decision win over the previously (20-1) Omar Salcido in just his fifth pro fight. The scorecards read 98-92×2 & 99-91. Andy Cruz came into the fight ranked #4 in the WBA, #5 in the IBF & #6 in the WBC. So tonight’s domination for Cruz edges him ever closer to that world title shot. It was a clean, and slick performance throughout from Cruz, Omar did land a few crunching body shots, however, his work was very limited and all the flashy work came from Cruz. He did rock Omar in the seventh round with a big right to the head.
After the fight, Cruz trainer Bozy Ennis, father of Boots Ennis said: “He’s progressing every time. He fought a dude that was 20-1. That boy wasn’t no slouch. He could take a punch, and he could fight. So, Andy is right there. I give him until the end of this year for title contention. Whoever has got the titles, that’s who we want.”
The Undercard
As we moved further down the card we saw Super-Lightweight Ernesto Mercado picked up his 17th pro win. He stopped Jose Pedraza in the fourth round with a devastating flurry of punches. It was an exciting performance from Mercado, and surely the end of the tunnel for the ever-game Jose Pedraza. Undefeated Leonardo Rubalcava saw himself score a majority draw over the (11-1) Israel Mercado over eight rounds in the Super-Lightweight division. Mercado was floored in the first round and deducted a point in the seventh.
New Matchroom signing Nishant Dev scored a devastating stoppage win over Alton Wiggins. One of the fastest flurries you will ever see from a fighter showed just what’s to come from hugely talented Nishant Dev. Another new signing for Matchroom picked up a stoppage win. Zaquin Moses cousin of Shakur Stevenson stopped the previously undefeated (3-0) Mario Garcia. Harley Mederos moved to 8-0 with a KO victory over Arturo Isla in the Lightweight division.
That’s everything from Matchrooms Vegas show. Another showcase of the massive stable of talent Eddie Hearn has at his disposal in America. An exciting future for Matchroom USA.
