Pacheco entered the Sadjo fight as the younger, more polished boxer, but he was repeatedly injured by Sadjo’s pressure and power, constantly held to stop the attack, and was dropped in the eighth round before leaving with a controversial decision that many felt he did not deserve.
Pacheco’s reliance on holding against Sadjo was the result of zero plan for when his jab failed. When a fighter is terrified of the exchange, they seize 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 clawing as soon as he’s touched, we’ll know the trainer wasn’t the problem.
It was the kind of performance that hurts a prospect even without an official loss. Pacheco kept his undefeated record at 25-0, but many saw the night as a loss. The momentum around him changed quickly. He no longer looked like a fighter who was ready for the top of the division, but one who needed work before facing names like Christian Mbilli, Osleys Iglesias or Canelo Alvarez.
Buddy doesn’t practice toughness. You either have a chin or you don’t, but he is a master at remote control. He’ll try to replace the panic with educated movement, the kind of subtle movements that keep a guy like Sadjo from ever getting close enough to land.
McGirt famously tells his fighters, “Don’t give them nothing for nothing.” He will likely move Pacheco away from the high-volume, “Mexican style” of Benavidez Sr. and to 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. This is the fastest way to lose a promotional push from Matchroom.
