Diego Pacheco is a "hell of a fighter", with coach Buddy McGirt impressed by his pupil's willingness to learn on the fly in training.
The Mexican-American star has worked under the Hall-of-Famer since departing David Benavidez's team, to low-key success.
Pacheco will have the chance to prove those skills tonight in a California homecoming against Immanuwel Aleem live on DAZN.
Speaking to The Ring ahead of his star's headline show at Dignity Health Sports Park, McGirt had nothing but praise for him.
“I’m telling him that he's got to trust the process," he said. "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 [or] 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 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] is a hell of a fighter.”
Watch Anthony Joshua's hugely anticipated return to the ring versus Kristian Prenga on Saturday, July 25 only on DAZN PPV. Buy as a one-off PPV or included, along with Itauma vs. Hrgovic and Canelo vs. Mbilli PPVs, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.