Diego Pacheco’s quest from evolving top contender to potentially challenging for a super middleweight crown continues against Steven Nelson on January 25 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Nelson told The Ring that he’s signed a contract to fight Pacheco. Pacheco’s assistant trainer Junior Lopez, who works alongside head coach Jose Benavidez Sr., told The Ring they have started training camp preparing for Nelson.

The fight will headline a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN, and lightweight contender Andy Cruz is also slated to be featured, according to a source informed of Cruz’s plans.

“I sought the fight myself against Diego Pacheco,” Nelson told The Ring. There was a post on social media asking ‘Who should Pacheco fight next?’ I commented and tagged him on Instagram, and he responded. So I said, ‘I’ll have my people call your people.’ At first, they were trying to fight Trevor McCumby, but I don’t know what happened with that since it fell through. Then they asked me if I’d be ready, and I said, ‘let’s get it.’”

Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) is ranked No. 4 by The Ring and is the No. 1 challenger to super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez's WBC throne. Pacheco knocked out former middleweight title challenger Maciej Sulecki in August inside six rounds with a body shot. After the fight, Pacheco promoter Eddie Hearn hinted that 2025 would be a big year for the 23-year-old from Los Angeles as they angled for fights against Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, Caleb Plant, and if they hit the lottery ticket, Alvarez.

Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) is coming off a fifth-round knockout win against Marcos Vazquez Rodriguez in August. Nelson, 36, is from Omaha, Nebraska, and a confidant of Terence Crawford. Nelson and Crawford are both coached by reigning trainer of the year Brian McIntyre.