Hall of Famers Arturo Gatti and Antonio Tarver sit atop a long list of successful fighters with whom McGirt has worked. Others include Sergey Kovalev, Vernon Forrest, Paulie Malignaggi, Joel Casamayor, Lamon Brewster and Hasim Rahman.

McGirt's latest project is super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (25-0, 18 KOs), who returns Saturday to take on Immanuwel Aleem (22-4-3, 14 KOs) in a homecoming at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, to headline a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN.

Pacheco, a 25-year-old from Los Angeles, needs McGirt's Midas touch after a milquetoast 2025 featuring workmanlike unanimous decisions against Steven Nelson, Trevor McCumby and Kevin Lele Sadjo, getting knocked down by the latter in December.

Pacheco concluded after that bout that he needed to improve. That’s why McGirt got the call.

“The kid has a lot of talent, and he hasn't even scratched the surface with his talent yet,” McGirt told The Ring. “He’s got so much potential. Once he finds it, believes in it and starts really showcasing it, he's going to be a terror.

“When you get a guy who has the talent, sometimes you got to know how to light the fire under their ass.”

Pacheco wanted to create a new identity after separating last year from trainer/manager Jose Benavidez Sr. He reunited with longtime amateur coach Omar Villanueva for the Sadjo fight, but the pact failed to deliver the results Pacheco wanted.

“There's certain things that he needs,” McGirt said. “He was winning doing the same things, and sometimes guys get comfortable. You can't get comfortable, because when you get comfortable that's when you have problems. You can become one-dimensional.

“I’m telling him that he's got to trust the process. If I tell him something, he's got to trust it. You got to try it and trust it. It might not work the first time. It might not work the second time. By the third or fourth time, if you have patience, you should be able to get it done. It's just a matter of not rushing.

“But the good thing about Diego is that he's willing to learn. If I tell him something, he doesn't question it; he does it. I tell him that he doesn’t have to do it the same way I told him, but the key is to get the same results. He’s caught on, and I can honestly say that the young man is a hell of a fighter.”

Pacheco, ranked No. 6 by The Ring at 168 pounds, is a lanky 6-foot-4 boxer-puncher who possesses a prolific jab and pairs his best punch with pressing work to the body.

“This kid can do it all,” McGirt said. “He can box. He can get inside. He works the body well. He does it all. He just needs that foot on the gas with him. I’ve been showing him, not telling him. That’s how you gain trust and move on to the next.

“He has a choice. He can make it easy, or he can make it hard. That choice is his. He has the talent to make this s--- look easy. The key to making it easy is staying focused and not getting complacent.”

Pacheco can’t afford a letdown against Aleem, who’s a step down in competition from Nelson, McCumby and Sadjo as he's coming off a one-sided decision loss to Lester Martinez last time out. Pacheco might need a knockout to make a statement.

So how does McGirt plan to unleash his new protege’s inner monster?

“It all starts in the gym — that’s where you have to gain that confidence,” he said. “The key right now is just to focus on Aleem on Saturday, and then after that, let the chips fall where they may.

“Personally, once we get through this fight, then we shoot for the stars. He can take over the 168-pound division. He's got everything it takes to be a world champion and beat these guys."