With the way everything has transpired over his last three fights, the undefeated super middleweight contender's naysayers certainly have had plenty of reason to voice their displeasure.

They said Pacheco looked average at best during unanimous-decision wins in which he was supposed to stand out against Steven Nelson, Trevor McCumby and Kevin Lele Sadjo, the latter of which Pacheco was even dropped for the first time in his career.

They said Pacheco ducked meaningful matchups by declining fights against Christian Mbilli and Hamzah Sheeraz.

They said Pacheco is regressing by taking on lesser competition in Immanuwel Aleem, who he's tasked to face Saturday during a homecoming at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, to headline a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN.

But behind the scenes, Pacheco (25-0, 18 KOs) was going through a tumultuous time, and a sequence of events contributed to what many deem was a down year for The Ring's No. 6 168-pounder despite going 3-0 in 2025.

Here's how everything unfolded, according to Pacheco: He was tied to Jose Benavidez Sr. as his trainer/manager and secluded in Seattle, homesick as a first-time father and away from his family in Los Angeles, all while still grieving the death of his brother.

Team Benavidez, meanwhile, decided to move its home base to Miami, and suddenly, Pacheco had to figure it out on his own in Seattle while meaningful opportunities against Mbilli and Sheeraz quickly materialized.

Pacheco, 25, felt that it was not the right time to be rushed, so he executed a series of moves to put him in position for the next stage of his evolution. He amicably separated from Benavidez Sr., returned to Los Angeles, signed a management deal with Sheer Sports, re-signed with career-long promoter Matchroom and handed the coaching keys to the renowned Buddy McGirt.

Now, Pacheco is ready, if the -1800 betting favorite successfully gets past Aleem (22-4-3, 14 KOs) as expected.

"I was somewhere I didn't want to be anymore, and I feel that made a big impact on my performances," Pacheco told The Ring. "I wouldn't say I was miserable, but I didn't like it out there anymore. I missed home. I missed being around my people. It was like a snowball effect.

"Everything was good with David Benavidez. I loved sparring and training with those guys in camp, but it kind of switched when they moved to Miami. I feel like that's when everything changed with me being left with assistant coaches who were not at the level that I needed. I was basically running training camp myself and telling the coaches what to do. That was only going to get me so far."

For Sadjo in December, Pacheco linked up with longtime amateur coach and assistant Omar Villanueva as his head trainer, but that was only a temporary solution as he remodeled the team around him after openly admitting he needed to improve.

"It was time to move away from Team Benavidez and create Team Pacheco," he said. "Buddy McGirt was the important missing piece. I needed a real Hall of Famer like Buddy, who I was going to respect, listen to and get better with.

"But I want to give a shoutout to Benavidez Sr. because he understood my situation, and even though I had a couple of years left on that management contract, we both mutually agreed to break that contract, and he let me go as a free agent.

"I feel great now. I'm happy with the team that I have. I'm where I want to be and around the people I want to be with. I feel rejuvenated. I feel like that fire is back under me, and I am ready for the future."

Pacheco is aiming to regain a position that he held at the end of 2024, when he was coming off a stretch of stopping 10 of 11 opponents, headlining shows in Los Angeles, Mexico and even the UK as a can't-miss future champion with Eddie Hearn calling for fights against Jaime Munguia and Canelo Alvarez.

It's now the Hall of Fame fighter-turned-coach McGirt's job to get Pacheco to the Promised Land.

"I respect Buddy's communication and delivery, and I really like his boxing IQ," Pacheco said. "Buddy is great at showing me why things have to be a certain way. It's all making sense. We've been connecting very well. I'm very happy. It's been fun and exciting in the gym. I've been learning every day and getting better.

"We've been working on a bunch of little stuff. I feel like old school trainers are more by the book and everything has to be a certain way. It's fixing the little mistakes. Like in my last fight against Sadjo, I made a small mistake where I lost my balance by reaching with my right hand, instead of stepping in closer and letting it go, and that's how I got dropped. So we are fixing things like that."

McGirt has worked with a who's who group such as Arturo Gatti, Antonio Tarver, Sergey Kovalev, Vernon Forrest, Paulie Malignaggi, Joel Casamayor, Lamon Brewster and Hasim Rahman.

Pacheco is confident that he can get his mean streak back under McGirt's guidance and start stopping the opposition while wowing observers.

"I'm a fighter that has a lot of tools," Pacheco said. "My intelligence in the ring is my number one factor that's able to get me through these fights and pull out the win. We're definitely working on controlling the fights a lot easier, but also getting guys out of there. When I land clean, I can definitely hurt anybody in front of me. I've been knocking out guys my entire career, and for my last three fights to go to decision, it's definitely not what I wanted.

"And the fighters I was fighting were not easy fights. They were tricky, strong and confident fighters who adapted and had some good rounds. But that also showed my skill level as well and being able to adapt and beat them on points. I learned a lot with all three of those fights."

Pacheco understands that looking spectacular against Aleem, who just went 12 rounds during a one-sided loss against Lester Martinez in March, is the first move to get back in everyone's good graces.

"Aleem wasn't my first choice for an opponent. I wanted to face a way higher-rated opponent, but it is what it is," Pacheco said. "Guys are busy and have fights lined up, and I want to stay active and not wait much longer.

"Aleem's style is perfect for me to shine and really get that momentum going again as I had before. I need to look impressive and come out and show the world why I believe I will be world champion at 168 pounds and rule the division. That's what I've been working on."

The weight class is loaded with Alvarez, reputable crownholders Osleys Iglesias (IBF), Munguia (WBA), Mbilli (WBC) and Sheeraz (WBO). It also has bonafide contenders in Martinez, Caleb Plant, Jermall Charlo, Edgar Berlanga and Armando Resendiz.

"I do feel some type of way about how people think I was ducking fights, but it was because I wasn't in the right place and really didn't feel comfortable with everything happening around me. It just didn't make sense at the time," Pacheco said.

"When fights like that are offered, and you don't have the team backing you up, and you feel like you're getting pressured into stuff, it's a little hard. I felt like I was being set up to lose.

"But I feel like it lit that fire up under me again. I have my team, and I'm 100% ready for any of these fights. I'm obviously locked in on Aleem for Saturday, but after this, I want to go for the biggest fights possible."

"There are no excuses. I am 100 percent ready for everyone, and as soon as I get the opportunity, I am taking it. I'm ready for the world title fights next."

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan