Disputed decision over Kevin Lele Sadjo forces camp overhaul with Buddy McGirt brought in
Diego Pacheco has changed trainers following his disputed decision win over Kevin Lele Sadjo in December. The move brings in Buddy McGirt and raises questions about how Pacheco adjusts after a fight that exposed flaws under pressure.
After a performance that drew heavy criticism, the unbeaten super middleweight has brought in Buddy McGirt as head trainer after moving on from Jose Benavidez Sr.
Pacheco entered the Sadjo fight as the younger, more polished boxer, but he was repeatedly hurt by Sadjo’s pressure and power, held constantly to shut down the attack, and was dropped in the eighth round before leaving with a disputed decision that many felt he did not deserve.
Pacheco’s reliance on holding against Sadjo was a result of having zero plan for when his jab failed. When a fighter is terrified of the exchange, they clinch to reset the clock.
McGirt can fix the wrestling by giving him better footwork so he doesn’t have to hold, but he can’t fix the fear. That summer return is going to be a massive tell. If he starts clutching the moment he gets touched, we’ll know the trainer wasn’t the issue.
That was the kind of performance that damages a prospect even without an official loss. Pacheco kept his unbeaten record at 25-0, but many came away treating the night as a defeat. The momentum around him changed quickly. He no longer looked like a fighter ready for the top of the division, but one who needs work before facing names such as Christian Mbilli, Osleys Iglesias, or Canelo Alvarez.
Buddy doesn’t train toughness. You either have a chin or you don’t, but he is a master of distance management. He’ll try to replace the panic-clinching with educated movement, the kind of subtle moves that keep a guy like Sadjo from ever getting close enough to land.
McGirt famously tells his fighters, “Don’t give ’em nothing for free.” He’ll likely move Pacheco away from the high-volume, “Mexican style” of Benavidez Sr. and toward a more clinical, hit-and-move American style.
If Pacheco fights even more defensively to protect his chin, he becomes a boring, safety-first fighter. That’s the quickest way to lose a promotional push from Matchroom.