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On Saturday, January 25, Diego Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) shined in Las Vegas as he outpointed Steven Nelson (21-1, 16 KOs). The LA native won by unanimous decision with the judge’s scorecards reading 117-111 x3. Pacheco is rising fast through the super middleweight rankings to the top of a division that is led by the legendary Canelo Alvarez. Following his win over Nelson, his trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. had his say over a potential Canelo fight.
Benavidez Sr. Explains Why Canelo Alvarez Would Avoid Diego Pacheco
Benavidez Sr. Highlights Pacheco’s Strengths
Pacheco extended his unbeaten record on Jan. 25 with a dominant performance against the tough and experienced Steven Nelson. The 23-year-old continues to rise through the super middleweight ranks, passing each test with flying colours.
Ranked number one in the WBO, the Renton fighter possesses a skill set that makes him a major threat to any super middleweight. With an eight-inch reach advantage over Canelo, Pacheco could present a complex puzzle for the Mexican champion to solve.
Benavidez Sr. Talks Canelo vs. Pacheco
Benavidez Sr. trains Pacheco and following the Nelson victory he revealed his belief that Alvarez would avoid a clash with the 23-year-old: “You know, Canelo would never take a fight with Diego Pacheco.”
“He’s strong, rangy, he uses his jab very well, super young, and he’s getting better and better and better. So, if Canelo’s here, you know, he’s ready. He’s ready to take that challenge. And I think that would be a great fight,” said Benavidez Sr.
“But we’re ready for whatever. You know, I think [promoter] Eddie Hearn’s doing a great job, you know, taking him with all these fighters.”
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Mikaela Mayer Dominates Mary Spencer to Become Unified Champion at 154 Pounds
MONTREAL — Mikaela Mayer is back on top and now, she’s a unified champion in a third weight division. The former two-division world champion produced a masterful performance Thursday night, defeating WBA champion Mary Spencer by unanimous decision to claim both the vacant WBC and WBO junior middleweight titles. The fight headlined a Top Rank card at Casino de Montreal, where Mayer’s relentless pace and precise pressure overwhelmed the hometown favorite across ten one-sided rounds. A statement win for Mayer Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) took command from the opening bell, using her signature jab and superior conditioning to walk down Spencer (10-3, 6 KOs) throughout the fight. Judges scored the bout 100-90, 98-92, and 98-92, all in favor of Mayer, who barely allowed Spencer a moment to breathe. Spencer, 40, entered the fight as the naturally larger woman, but she struggled to impose that physical advantage. Instead, she found herself fighting off the back foot, repeatedly tagged by Mayer’s straight right hands and combinations. By the eighth round, Mayer’s consistent pressure began to wear Spencer down. A crisp right hand visibly staggered the Canadian, and Mayer closed strong, battering her opponent with a barrage of clean shots until the final bell. “I have options now,” says Mayer For Mayer, 35, this victory represents both vindication and evolution. After a turbulent two-year stretch including a narrow loss to Alycia Baumgardner in 2022 and a close decision defeat to Natasha Jonas at welterweight Mayer has once again found her championship groove. “I think the most important thing is that I have options,” Mayer said post-fight. “I cleared my head after a tough two years. I’d love to do both go down to 147 to become undisputed and defend at 154. I think I’m a natural 147-pounder. I can do both.” Mayer previously held unified titles at super featherweight (130 lbs) and later won a world title at welterweight (147 lbs) after defeating Sandy Ryan in 2024. Thursday’s triumph now makes her a unified champion in yet another division solidifying her as one of the most accomplished women in modern boxing. The path ahead: Undisputed ambitions With the IBF title currently held by Oshae Jones, Mayer has a clear path to undisputed status at 154 pounds. Alternatively, a return to 147 could set up marquee matchups with three-belt champion Lauren Price or a rematch with Jonas. Regardless of which direction she takes, Mayer’s resurgence is undeniable. Once again, she’s proving that weight, age, and setbacks are no barriers for one of boxing’s most disciplined and determined champions.
Nationals set to hire MLB's youngest manager in over 50 years
The Washington Nationals were one of a handful of teams heading into the offseason needing a new manager. The Nats fired former manager Dave Martinez, who helped lead them to their first World Series title in 2019, ahead of the All-Star break. They then had to decide if they wanted to keep interim manager Miguel Cairo or head in another direction. The Nationals decided to go in a different direction, announcing on Thursday that they are set to hire the youngest MLB manager in over 50 years. Nationals will hire Blake Butera to be their next manager After going 29-43 after taking over for Martinez, the Nationals decided that Cairo wasn't the man to lead them forward. Washington is hiring 33-year-old Blake Butera to be its next manager, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Butera will be a new voice to pair with the new president of baseball operations, Paul Toboni, who took over for former executive Mike Rizzo. According to Passan, Butera will be the youngest manager in more than 50 years. Butera joins Oliver Marmol (39) of the St. Louis Cardinals as the only managers in baseball under 40 years old. In his four-year career as a minor league manager in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, Butera accumulated a 258-144 record. That should bode well for him going to Washington, especially after six straight losing seasons. A former 35th-round draft pick of the Rays, Butera is also a former two-time minor league Manager of the Year in the Rays organization and was the bench coach for Team Italy in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Nationals need to give Blake Butera everything he needs to be successful Being so young and "inexperienced," Toboni and the Nationals organization will need to surround Butera with a veteran coaching staff. In particular, an experienced bench coach to help guide him through being a big league manager. Someone like former Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington would be a good hire to help guide Butera, given his managerial experience and longtime coaching. Coming from the Rays organization, Butera can bring over things he's learned there to help the Nationals improve as an organization. The Rays are consistently at the forefront of analytics and new, innovative ways to build a successful baseball team. Having a young roster and only two players with a decade in the big leagues (Josh Bell and Trevor Williams), Butera should find it easy to connect with some of his younger players, given his age. However, veterans may find it hard to listen to someone as inexperienced as Butera, which he’ll need to work on if the Nationals add any more to help mentor their young core.
Warriors castoff has a career night against his old team
The Golden State Warriors traded away Ryan Rollins in 2023 after one season and 12 games with the team. Thursday night, Rollins showed the Warriors what they missed out on. With Giannis Antetokounmpo out with an injury, Rollins scored a career-high 32 points and dished out eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Warriors, 120-110. Rollins went 5-for-7 from three-point range, tying his career best, and went 13-for-21 overall. In the last four minutes after the Warriors got within points, Rollins had eight points and an assists. Oh, and he outscored Stephen Curry, 32-27. Warriors gave up on Ryan Rollins after one season Golden State traded up to draft Rollins with the No. 44 pick in the 2022 draft, believing that the then-19-year-old guard from Toledo could help it reload their championship roster, which was getting up in age. But Rollins missed Summer League due to a foot injury, then suffered a season-ending Jones fracture. After the season, the Warriors sent Rollins and fellow 2022 draftee Patrick Baldwin, Jr. to the Washington Wizards along with Jordan Poole. In exchange, they got 38-year-old Chris Paul, a serious reversal in the team's earlier youth movement. Rollins was included in the deal to help the Warriors dump Poole's contract, which spanned four more seasons, and to ditch his own guaranteed deal. After a troubled partial season in Washington, the Wizards waived Rollins and he caught on with the Bucks in February 2024. Ryan Rollins' huge night showed the 23-year-old's improvement One game after Rollins had a career-high 25 points against the New York Knicks, he set another career high, this time without Antetokounmpo there to score 37 points and take up the defense's attention. Even with a great defensive player like Jimmy Butler on him, Rollins delivered in the clutch. Rollins has gone 9-for-11 from three-point range in his last two games, but it doesn't feel like a fluke. Last year he shot 40.8% on threes and hit 80% of his free throws, a strong indicator Rollins can truly shoot the ball. He also had 12 steals in his first four games, and while he didn't have a takeaway Thursday night, Rollins has more steals than turnovers (10) on the season and an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio of 5-to-2. Last season, Rollins was a solid reserve, averaging 6.2 points and 1.9 assists while starting 19 games. But with Damian Lillard suffering an Achilles tear and then being waived by the Bucks, Rollins got an opportunity, and got an even bigger one when Kevin Porter, Jr. sprained his ankle in the season opener. Rollins looks like he's going to have a serious future in the NBA. Unfortunately for the Warriors, that future won't be with them.
Dak Prescott addresses comment from Jerry Jones that infuriated Cowboys fans
Jerry Jones made some comments in a recent interview that angered Dallas Cowboys fans, and Dak Prescott says he can understand the frustration. The Cowboys have had one of the worst defenses in the NFL through the first eight weeks of the season. They rank 31st out of 32 teams in points allowed (31.3) and total yards allowed (404.6) per game. Jones has spoken openly about trying to find ways to fix that, but he was criticized for making light of the issues during a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. In the interview, which was published on Wednesday, Jones spoke about a $1B investment he has made in natural gas company Comstock Resources. The 83-year-old made a quip about how there is so much money to be made in natural gas that it has taken his attention away from the Cowboys' defensive struggles. "There's $100B present value with natural gas out there," Jones said. "That’s why I’m talking to you on the telephone rather than trying to fix our defense with the Dallas Cowboys.” Dak Prescott understands why Cowboys fans were angry Prescott was asked on Thursday about Cowboys fans being irritated with Jones' comments. The star quarterback defended Jones but said he understands where fans are coming from. "I don’t know the full context of it. I do know a piece of it. But being a fan and you just hear that or read that, yeah, of course. ... That can definitely be frustrating," Prescott said. "But in that sense, I would just say, the guy has never really lied about who he is or what he’s trying to do. "Hopefully he was talking about in that one particular moment. Maybe in those five minutes is what he was alluding to, and having a chance at a $100B opportunity I think you might take five minutes as well to answer a call. Hopefully that’s what he means, right? But I could see how it could be frustrating." Jones, of course, is not a passive team owner. He is still the general manager of the Cowboys, and many of his recent moves have been questioned. The most obvious was his decision to trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just before the start of the 2025 season. Jerry Jones has tempered trade-deadline expectations While Jones has claimed he is open to any and all moves that might improve the Cowboys ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline, he said this week that nothing notable is close. He did not sound all that confident in that changing prior to Tuesday, though that could merely be posturing. The Cowboys acquired two first-round picks in the Parsons deal. Fans want Jones to use the additional draft capital to help the 2025 Cowboys make a run, but there is no guarantee of that happening.
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