Diego Pacheco vs Steven Nelson, Naoya Inoue in a squash match

The most notable fighter this week is, of course, undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue. But just because you’re the most notable fighter doesn’t mean you’ve got the most notable fight.

Inoue’s bout with late replacement Ye Joon Kim is not expected to be competitive, so we’ll get to the Inoue broadcast a little later on in this article and instead grant the top spotlight to a pair of unbeaten super middleweights.

Pick it, part 1: Diego Pacheco vs Steven Nelson

When to watch: Saturday, January 25 at 8 p.m. ET (1 a.m. GMT)

Why to watch: Pacheco and Nelson are a pair of super middleweight prospects who want the top names at 168. But they also have taken very different paths to get to this point. While Pacheco is young, up and coming, and has gotten more of a promotional push, Nelson is much older and has endured some frustrations in his career despite his unblemished record.

Pacheco, 22-0 (18 KOs), is a 23-year-old from Renton, Washington, and signed with Matchroom Boxing. He’s ranked No. 1 by the WBO, No. 3 by the WBC and No. 6 by the IBF. In 2023, Pacheco scored a trio of knockouts, taking out Jack Cullen in four, Manuel Gallegos in four and Marcelo Coceres in nine. Last year, Pacheco outpointed Shawn McCalman over the course of 10 rounds and then dispatched Maciej Sulecki in six.

Nelson, 20-0 (16 KOs), is a 36-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, who once was part of the Top Rank roster. As chronicled by BoxingScene’s Lucas Ketelle, Nelson turned pro relatively late but benefited from working alongside his city’s superstar, Terence Crawford, and Crawford’s team. However, Nelson lost two of his prime years, out of the ring between September 2020 and December 2022, after tearing his Achilles tendon in 2021.

Nelson’s three appearances since returning have been sporadic, all on Crawford’s undercards in December 2022, July 2023 and August 2024, when he put away the 20-0-1 Marcos Vazquez Rodriguez in five rounds. Nelson is only ranked by one of the sanctioning bodies; the WBO lists him at No. 13.

It’s rather unlikely that the winner will get a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but they will still move forward in a division with plenty of other contenders who will also need opponents.

This show at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas also features lightweight prospect Andy Cruz, 4-0 (2 KOs), against Omar Salcido Gamez, 20-1 (4 KOs); and junior welterweight prospect Ernesto Mercado, 16-0 (15 KOs), against Jose Pedraza, 29-6-1 (14 KOs).

Pick it, part 2: Naoya Inoue vs Ye Joon Kim

When to watch: Friday, January 24 at 4:15 a.m. ET (9:15 a.m. GMT)

Why to watch: A mix of sadism and masochism. 

No, you didn’t stumble into the wrong website. This is still BoxingScene. But if you’re going to make yourself wake up early to watch one of the best fighters in the world, it won’t be to see Naoya Inoue defend the undisputed junior featherweight championship against one of his mandatory contenders.

That’s because Sam Goodman, who suffered a cut in sparring that postponed the Inoue fight from December to January, reopened that cut even worse and is now out of the bout. So instead you’ll be watching to see how quickly and how painfully Inoue will take care of Ye Joon Kim.

Inoue, 28-0 (25 KOs), made two successful defenses last year, coming off the canvas to stop mandatory contender Luis Nery in six rounds in May, then staying busy with a seventh-round TKO of TJ Doheny in September. 

That followed a 2023 campaign in which Inoue beat Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales to win all four world titles at 122lbs, another significant accomplishment in a career that also saw Inoue win world titles at 108 and 115 and the undisputed championship at 118.

The 31-year-old from Yokohama, Japan, is looking toward fights with junior featherweight contenders Alan David Picasso and Murodjon Akhmadaliev, and bantamweight titleholder Junto Nakatani. And if Inoue makes it through 2025 unscathed, perhaps 2026 will bring a move up to featherweight.

That’s if Kim, 21-2-2 (13 KOs), doesn’t play the spoiler. The 32-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, has of course never fought anyone on Inoue’s level – because, after all, so few fighters in the entire sport are on Inoue’s level. Kim hasn’t even fought anyone near the level of the fighters Inoue has faced and beaten over these past several years.

Kim’s first loss came in his second pro bout. The other defeat came in 2023, when he dropped a majority decision to the 14-9 Rob Diezel. In Kim’s last appearance, he won a fifth-round TKO in May over the 15-3-1 Rakesh Lohchab.

Also on this broadcast from Ariake Arena in Tokyo is welterweight prospect Jin Sasaki vs Shoki Sakai.

Sasaki, a 23-year-old from Tokyo, is 18-1-1 (17 KOs). His lone loss came in October 2021, when he was stopped in 11 rounds by Andy Hiraoka. Sasaki has gone 7-0-1 since. He is ranked No. 3 by the IBF and WBO, and No. 4 by the WBA and WBC.

Sakai, a 34-year-old from Yokohama, is unranked and 29-14-3 (15 KOs). His most recent fight was in May, when he dropped a split decision to the 18-3-1 Ryota Toyoshima. Sakai’s record also includes losses to some familiar names, with decision defeats against Alexis Rocha and Gor Yeritsyan, both in 2019.

Thursday, January 23: Eric Priest vs Tyler Howard (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 9 p.m. ET (2 a.m. GMT).

Priest, 14-0 (8 KOs), is a 26-year-old middleweight prospect from Kansas. He fought twice in 2024, picking up a pair of 10-round decision wins, including a shutout of the 9-2-1 Luke Lozo on the undercard of Vergil Ortiz Jnr vs Serhii Bohachuk in August.

Howard, 20-2 (11 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Tennessee. He has lost two of his last three, dropping a unanimous decision to the 14-2 Ian Green in November 2021, returning 21 months later with a narrow nod over the 12-1 Raul Salomon and, in his lone appearance of 2024, losing wide on the scorecards to Troy Isley in November.

This fight will take place at The Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce, California.

Friday, January 24: Najee Lopez vs Lenin Castillo (ProBoxTV.com)

The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. ET (11 p.m. GMT).

Lopez, 12-0 (9 KOs), is a 25-year-old light heavyweight prospect from Georgia. He fought three times in 2024, winning a majority decision against the 14-2 Marcos Escudero in February, a unanimous decision against the 9-0-1 Steven Sumpter in July and a third-round knockout against the 15-16-2 Ismael Ocles in October.

Castillo, 25-6-1 (19 KOs), is a 36-year-old originally from the Dominican Republic and now fighting out of Miami. He has become a measuring-stick opponent for 175-pound prospects after previously being a B-side against contenders and a titleholder. Castillo went from losses to Marcus Browne (UD10 in 2018), Dmitry Bivol (UD12 in 2019) and Callum Smith (a frightening TKO2 in 2021) to losses to Albert Ramirez (UD10 in 2023) and Juan Carrillo (UD10 last October).

This fight will be held at ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

(Note: BoxingScene.com is owned by ProBox.)

Saturday, January 25: Dalton Smith vs Walid Ouizza (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. ET (7 p.m. GMT).

Smith, a junior welterweight prospect from Sheffield, England, is returning for the first time from an injury that limited the 27-year-old to just one fight in 2024. Smith last fought in March, putting away Jose Zepeda with a fifth-round body shot knockout. He is now 16-0 (12 KOs).

Ouizza, 19-2 (8 KOs), is a 33-year-old from France whose two defeats both occurred several years ago. He lost decisions to the 6-1-1 Brice Bassole in 2017 and the 9-6 Sandy Messaoud in 2018. Since then, Ouizza has won 11 in a row. In 2023, he picked up a pair of close victories against previously unbeaten foes: a split decision over the 17-0 Alejandro Moya and a majority decision over the 13-0 Charlemagne Metonyekpon. Last year, Ouizza’s sole appearance saw him unanimously outpoint the 11-1-1 Bryan Venant Fanga.

The undercard at Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, England, includes a world title fight: Ellie Scotney, 9-0 (0 KOs), will defend her Ring Magazine junior featherweight championship and IBF and WBO belts against Mea Motu, 20-0 (8 KOs).

Scotney, a 26-year-old from London, picked up the IBF title with a decision over Cherneka Johnson in 2023. She added the WBO and Ring belts in her last appearance, a unification win over Segolene Lefebvre in April. This fight with Motu was originally supposed to take place in October but was postponed due to Scotney suffering an injury.

Motu, a 35-year-old from New Zealand, instead stayed busy in October with a fourth-round TKO of the 24-7-1 Shannon O’Connell.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.