Diego Pacheco Hoping To Rejuvenate Career

Saturday night in Carson, CA, unbeaten 168 lb. contender Diego Pacheco returns in the Matchroom Boxing main event and he's hoping a renowned trainer helps him re-ignite his promising career.

Hall of Fame trainer Buddy McGirt is now with him and is convinced Pacheco is only beginning to tap into his full potential. The pair prepare to make their debut with Pacheco taking on veteran contender Immanuwel Aleem in clash that will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.

Pacheco, 25-0, 18 KOs, enters the bout hoping to continue his climb toward a world title opportunity. The 25-year-old Los Angeles native is currently ranked #3 by the WBO, #4 by both the WBC and IBF and  #7 by the WBA.

Pacheco returns to the venue known as the "War Grounds," where he produced an impressive knockout victory over Maciej Sulecki back in 2024.

Standing in his way is Aleem, 22-4-3, 14 KOs, who is determined to revive his own world title ambitions with what would be the biggest victory of his career. The experienced contender is looking to rebound after dropping a unanimous decision to Lester Martinez in March in a fight for the interim WBC super middleweight crown.

Back to the trainer switch. Pacheco has been with Jose Benavidez Sr., for much of his career, but wanted a new voice.

And, after overseeing his first full training camp with Pacheco, McGirt believes the unbeaten contender has far more to offer than he has shown inside the ring so far. The former two-division world champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer, who has guided numerous elite fighters throughout his celebrated coaching career, sees untapped ability in Pacheco as he continues his push toward championship opportunities at 168 pounds.

“I don’t believe he’s scratched the surface yet with his talent, he hasn’t used all of the talent that he has,” said McGirt earlier this week. “He’s got by doing just what he’s been doing, but the key is to make him better, to make the fights much easier. He has a talent to make fights much easier than rather making them hard. If you scratch the surface and bring the best out and the tools that he has that he doesn’t use, and have him get confidence in it, it makes it so much easier.

“On Saturday, I expect him to be Diego, but at the same time, I expect him to do a few of the things you worked on, not everything, because you can’t expect that the first fight out, but if he does one or two of the things that we worked on, it’ll be a very successful night."

Now, it's up to the talented Californian to do the rest.