When unbeaten super middleweights collide

On Saturday in Las Vegas, Diego Pacheco, 22-0 (18 KOs), will meet Steven Nelson, 20-0 (16 KOs).

Victory for either of them at The Cosmopolitan will put the winner in line to face a significant name in a division filled with them. While the division’s moneymaker, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, might have his focus on Terence Crawford, even with David Benavidez having moved up, there are still plenty of difficult opponents and lucrative options.

But first, Pacheco and Nelson put their unbeaten records on the line, a welcome and often unusual novelty in the sport today. Here – in no particular order – are 10 other occasions when, at different stages of their careers, unbeaten 168 pounders have met.

1. Roy Jones Jnr (record at the time: 26-0) vs James Toney (record at the time: 44-0-2), November 1994

Two future Hall of Famers and exceptionally talented fighters boxed in Vegas at the MGM, with Toney being dropped in round three and outboxed over 12 rounds. Both were near the pinnacle of the sport, with The Ring Magazine ranking Toney at No. 2 and Jones at No. 3 in their pound-for-pound rankings beforehand.

2. Joe Calzaghe (43-0) vs Mikkel Kessler (39-0), November 2007

Kessler staked his 39-fight win streak at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, against the brilliant southpaw from Wales. Calzaghe, cheered on by more than 50,000 fans, found Kessler a match for him in the early going but started sniping at Kessler’s body, adapted his plan, and won a high-class fight over 12 rounds.

3. Carl Froch (23-0) vs Jean Pascal (21-0), December 2008
This fight acted as Froch’s coming-out party in front of his own fans in Nottingham, UK, and it was a memorable 12-round war. Both had success as they battled over the vacant WBC title, a belt that had been left behind by Calzaghe, who had moved up to fight Bernard Hopkins.

4. Sven Ottke (24-0) vs Anthony Mundine (10-0), December 2001

Outspoken Australian Mundine had joked about Ottke’s reputation as a light puncher, but it came back to haunt Mundine, who was stopped in 10 rounds for the IBF super-middleweight title. Mundine had, by that point, had points deducted for head-butting and hitting after the break.

5. Joe Calzaghe (40-0) vs Jeff Lacy (21-0), March 2006

Delivering one of the most comprehensive and systematic performances of all time, Calzaghe hammered Lacy – who was, for most people, a significant favorite. Lacy lost his IBF title to the WBO titleholder Calzaghe, but he managed to hear the final bell despite the avalanche of leather that had come his way.

6. James DeGale (10-0) vs George Groves (12-0), May 2011

Former amateur rivals were reunited early on in their pro careers at London’s O2 Arena. There was little between them, and while a fight later a few years on – with both as belt holders – would have been more lucrative, at least we got to see it happen when it counted. Groves won a close majority decision.

7. Andre Ward (26-0) vs Edwin Rodriguez (24-0), November 2013
Although this fight was made at 168lbs, Rodriguez had to forfeit 20 per cent of his purse for coming in two pounds overweight. It counted for little in the end. Ward won every round of a bad-tempered fight that saw both boxers penalized in round four for unsportsmanlike conduct.

8. David Benavidez (27-0) vs Demetrius Andrade (32-0), November 2023
Southpaw Andrade has not fought since. He was dropped in the fourth and was withdrawn by his corner after a tumultuous sixth round. It was billed as being for the WBC interim title.

9. Carl Froch (25-0) vs Andre Dirrell (18-0), October 2009

Unlike many of Froch’s fights, this one was not an all-action battle. Instead, Dirrell, the firm-punching American southpaw, was docked a point for pulling Froch toward him in the 10th and lost a split decision by two margins of 115-112 favoring Froch and one total of 114-113 for Dirrell. It was close. It was disputed. It was part of the Super Six, but Froch had his hand raised.

10. Mikkel Kessler (38 KOs) vs Librado Andrade (24-0), March 2007

It seems easily forgotten how very good Kessler, the Danish great, was. He lost only to Andre Ward, Froch – whom he also beat – and Calzaghe in 49 fights. His win over Andrade was his last before he lost his unbeaten mark to Calzaghe, but by then Kessler had defeated Mundine, Eric Lucas and Markus Beyer. Andrade, to his credit, soaked up a huge amount of punishment at the Parken in Denmark and survived to hear the final bell, but he had lost every round.

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.