Diego Pacheco Stops Immanuwel Aleem, Strengthens World Title Push

The Los Angeles contender broke Aleem down behind a disciplined jab before forcing an 11th-round stoppage in his first fight with Buddy McGirt

Diego Pacheco (26-0, 19 KOs) strengthened his world title credentials by stopping Immanuwel Aleem (22-5-3, 14 KOs) in the 11th round after a disciplined performance in Carson, California. The victory marked an impressive first outing with Buddy McGirt and moved the 25-year-old closer to a shot at the division’s leading champions.

From the opening round, Pacheco made full use of his considerable height and reach advantage. The 6-foot-4 Los Angeles native established a stiff jab, kept Aleem at the end of his punches, and mixed in body shots that made it difficult for the shorter challenger to work at close range.

Aleem refused to give ground during the opening rounds and tried to back Pacheco toward the ropes whenever he had the chance. Pacheco answered by pumping the jab into Aleem’s face and chest, forcing him to reset before he could put together more than a punch or two.

By the sixth round, Aleem was spending more time trying to get inside than he was throwing. Pacheco kept touching him with the jab before following with straight rights and hooks to the ribs. As the rounds progressed, he began putting his punches together with greater frequency, steadily increasing the punishment without abandoning his disciplined approach.

By the championship rounds, the fight had become increasingly one-sided. Pacheco sat down on his punches more often, driving hard shots to the body before snapping Aleem’s head back with uppercuts and straight rights.

The end came in the 11th round when Pacheco trapped Aleem along the ropes and hammered him with uppercuts and body shots until the referee stepped between them, ending the fight before more damage could be done.

The victory provided an impressive first outing with Buddy McGirt in Pacheco’s corner and strengthened his position among the leading contenders in the super middleweight division.