That caution is understandable. Pacheco’s fight against Kevin Lele Sadjo last December exposed serious weaknesses that one victory over Aleem did not erase.
Sadjo dropped Pacheco and hurt him several times whenever he found enough room to punch. Pacheco survived by clinching repeatedly, preventing Sadjo from maintaining his attack. The holding arguably saved him from being stopped, but it also produced heavy criticism from fans.
Pacheco was fortunate that the referee tolerated it. Malik Waleed disqualified Caroline Veyre for excessive holding in the eighth round against Bernice Ferreira last Saturday on the C
