The legendary Mexican trainer Ignacio ?Nacho? Beristain was in Atlantic City, N.J. this past weekend and he offered an interesting point of view when I asked him how important he feels it is for the sport of boxing to produce it?s Super Bowl event: Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather.
But the 68-year-old trainer of Mexican heroes such as Rafael and Juan Manuel Marquez, Hall of Famer Daniel Zaragoza, Humberto Gonzalez, Ricardo Lopez, revealed a surprising response.
?It?s a very good, important fight but that fight should not happen,? stated Beristain. ?Because I believe Pacquiao will beat Mayweather. You?re gonna take away the glory that has made Mayweather these past years. Mayweather?s style ? when he fights someone that pressures him and throws a lot of punches ? he just beats him up.?
When asked if it would be an easy win for Pacquiao, Beristain answered: ?It won?t be an easy fight but Pacquiao will win the fight. Pacquiao will definitely win.?
Beristain has plenty of up-close experience of watching Pacquaio ? Beristain cornered and trained Marquez twice against Pacquiao and Beristain also was in the corner with Oscar De La Hoya the night he took the vicious beating from Pac-Man. ?I know very well Pacquiao,? said the man who is regarded by some as one of the greatest trainers in boxing history. ?I?ve seen him fight many times. He?s very good. And everybody picks Mayweather to win the fight because he wins so much against easy fighters, but Pacquiao is just too tough, too strong.?
I asked Beristain what exactly is it that makes Pacquiao so effective, so great? ?He just works too hard. His training is too hard. He works very hard.?
Does Beristain believe Pacquiao is one of the greatest gladiators in boxing history? ?I think he?s an extraordinary fighter. Out of the normal. And I believe that he?s not skilled like some of the greatest in boxing history, like Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Bernard Hopkins and Muhammad Ali. But actually right now he?s like a big, big star in America, with the glory. But I don?t know yet if he?s ready to be one of the greatest of all time.?
I ask Beristain a tough question: Who can beat Pacquiao right now? Beristain answers, ?Juan Manuel has beaten him twice. And the next time if Juan Manuel does his work very good he can win the fight. Second fight there was a lot of weird things in the Marquez-Pacquiao fight.?
Obviously, the great trainer and veteran ring observer Nacho Beristain has zero confidence that the self-proclaimed greatest boxing in ring history Floyd Mayweather has anything close to what it requires to do the job of beating Manny Pacquiao.
