Diego Pacheco was disappointed about not getting a fight against Edgar Berlanga, but it appears he has shaken hands with Steven Nelson for a title eliminator in the meantime. The 23-year-old Pacheco is slated to lock horns with Poland’s Maciej Sulecki on 31st August at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

Meanwhile, during an appearance on the Flash Knockdown podcast, Renton, Washington’s own Pacheco, shared his thoughts on Edgar Berlanga, the WBA’s mandatory contender for Canelo Alvarez and a fellow fighter under Matchroom Boxing. Diego Pacheco, currently the WBO’s top contender for Canelo, expressed his disappointment that Berlanga secured the fight with the Mexican superstar before they had the chance to face off, believing that their bout should have determined who deserved the title shot.

Despite the disappointment, the 23-year-old seemed okay with Berlanga securing the Canelo bout overall. He said, “Berlanga is already, like, [27] years old… so it’s OK for him to get that fight. I guess the time is now for him. He’s in his prime. I hope he takes full advantage of it. I hope he makes the best of it. And yeah, I want the winner.”

But as it turns out, this interview seems to have sparked another promising potential matchup after Pacheco is done with his upcoming bout. After SportsBox TV Official shared Pacheco’s disappointment on Instagram, undefeated Nebraska resident Steven Nelson commented on the post, suggesting, “Well since they’re locked in how about me and you get in there for a title eliminator after your next fight @realdiegopacheco.”

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Pacheco has his WBC USA super middleweight title and WBO international super middleweight titles on the line against Sulecki. However, the 23-year-old seemed confident about overcoming that obstacle easily. As a result, he answered in the affirmative, noting, “run it.” This prompted an excited Nelson to respond, stating, “I’m on it, my people will be in contact soon as you done with your next one.” This means the winner between the two would become mandatory for WBO eventually getting a shot at the King— Canelo Alvarez. That is if Canelo successfully defends his title against Berlanga on September 14.

Meanwhile, Pacheco also shared who he thinks will win the upcoming fight between Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga. 

Diego Pacheco makes his prediction on Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga 

Canelo vs. Berlanga will headline the September 14th boxing event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which will broadcast live on Amazon’s Prime Video, DAZN, and PPV.com. Canelo is, of course, the betting favorite heading into his fifth consecutive title defense. And as far as Pacheco is concerned, his promotion teammate will taste defeat for the first time in his career.

During the Flash Knockdown podcast, the 23-year-old unbeaten boxer said, “I think Canelo will stop him.” He speculated that Berlanga would do well in the first three rounds of the fight. However, when Canelo Alvarez finds his rhythm and catches on to Berlanga’s timing, Canelo will “get him out of there.”

It appears despite not getting his way, Diego Pacheco has some pretty exciting fights lined up for him in the coming days. However, whether he gets the winner of Canelo vs. Berlanga is up in the air, since Canelo has explicitly said he would fight whoever he wants to. What do you think about the potential fight between Pacheco and Nelson?