Diego Pacheco tabs Buddy McGirt as new trainer
Apr 25, 2026 • 12:14 PM ET
Diego Pacheco’s push to become a world champion renews with an alliance with a former world-champion fighter as his new trainer.
BoxingScene has learned International Boxing Hall of Fame member Buddy McGirt has been brought on as head cornerman for South Central Los Angeles’ Pacheco 25-0 (18 KOs), a 25-year-old super-middleweight ranked in the top 10 by all four sanctioning bodies.
McGirt has previously trained recently unified middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, former light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and, before that, Arturo Gatti and Paulie Malignaggi.
Pacheco earlier this year signed with Sheer Sports after parting with trainer Jose Benavidez Snr.
Coming off a lackluster victory in December over Kevin Lele Sadjo 28-1 (25 KOs) in which Pacheco was knocked down in the eighth round, the 6-feet-4 Pacheco remains tied to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
Ranked No. 2 in the WBC under champion Christian Mbilli, interim champion Lester Martinez and No. 1-ranked former undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez, Pacheco is No. 6 in the IBF to new champion Osleys Iglesias, No. 5 in the WBO, where Hamzah Sheeraz will fight for the belt next month, and No. 8 in the WBA.
Armando Resendiz defends the WBA belt May 2 versus former 154lbs champion Jaime Munguia.
Pacheco is in line to fight again in the summer.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
