Las Vegas - In a battle of undefeated super middleweights, Diego Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) secured a tough twelve round unanimous decision over a game Steven Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs). All three judges scored it 117-111.

Both boxers took turns pushing forward with the early rounds and had limited spurts of success. As the first half played out, Nelson was dictating the pace by pushing forward and making Pacheco fight on the backfoot. During the fourth, a cut opened up around the left eye of Nelson from a right hand landed by Pacheco.

As the second half came around, Pacheco was in full control by using his height and reach to outland Nelson. In the seventh, they began to trade at close range. Pacheco was getting the better of the exchanges. During the tenth, a big right hand rocked the legs of Nelson. Pacheco went for the finish, but Nelson recovered quickly and was able to fight him off.

Nelson was trying to rally in the championship rounds. He was pushing forward and letting his hands go on Pacheco, who was holding at times to slow down Nelson's charge. Pacheco landed several hard counters that Nelson took well. It was a toe to toe slugfest at times with Nelson trying to turn the tide.