With the announcement of Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on September 14, opinions have begun flying all over cyberspace. Along with the flood of predictions and prognostications, the experts have begun to also weigh-in on this legitimate blockbuster match-up-and few experts carry as much weight as Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain.
The Hall of Fame trainer is the current guiding force behind Juan Manuel Marquez, but has also been a mentor to countless other fighters during his decades of service to the sport. Names like Ricardo Lopez, Rafael Marquez, Daniel Zaragoza, Humberto Gonzalez, and Jhonny Gonzalez, among many others, serve as proof that few men walking the planet know the nuts and bolts of boxing better than Beristain.
When recently asked about Saul Alvarez’s chances of pulling off the major upset on Mexican Independence Day weekend, “Nacho” bucked the knee-jerk instinct to write off the young Mexican battler. As a matter of fact, the distinguished trainer actually declared that the bout could be an even money proposition.
“In his last fights,” Beristain told Yahoo! Deportes, “he (Mayweather) hasn’t looked good and now Canelo has a great opportunity.”
Asked to rate Alvarez’s chances of scoring an upset on a scale of one to ten, Beristain further cemented his position by giving Canelo a 5.5.
All of this could be attributed to a veteran Mexican boxing presence displaying a bit of wishful thinking to the situation and, perhaps, allowing some nationalistic pride to creep into the equation. But Beristain is a notorious straight-shooter and has always been one to speak the truth, even when it may bring him some bad publicity.
“From the bottom of my heart, I really hope Canelo wins,” Beristain continued. “It would be a historic triumph for Mexican boxing?I hope all goes well for Canelo. He has a very good chance because he throws beautiful combinations; I like how he throws punches, very well done. Each time he looks more solid.”
In another interview, this time with ESPN Deportes, Beristain affirmed that the young red-head, who will be 23 in July, is not just another opponent for Mayweather:
“It’s not about losing to the best fighter in the world. When someone takes a fight, he takes it thinking that he has a chance to win?and “Canelito” has a chance to win.”
Beristain matched wits face to face with Mayweather back in 2009 when his fighter, Juan Manuel Marquez, faced the pound-for-pound top dog in a catchweight/welterweight showdown. In that contest, Mayweather completely stifled his Mexican opponent, cruising easily to a one-sided unanimous decision.
The 73-year-old trainer certainly has an idea of what it make take to finally defeat Floyd Mayweather, but like all the others, failed to find the right formula when it was his turn to put together a fight plan.
“Yes he (Canelo) has a chance,” Beristain continued with ESPN Deportes. “He needs to box, throw combinations of more than three punches. Only like that can he hurt that guy (Mayweather), because he’s very defensive.”
Along with the tips in strategy and hopes for the best, though, Beristain may also be counting on some help from Mother Nature to help slow down the 36-year-old defensive stylist enough to make him vulnerable.
“There are no advantages for Saul-not the weight, not his youth. But that fighter (Mayweather), maybe because of his advanced age, hasn’t looked very good in his last few fights,” Beristain affirmed.
Call it wishful thinking or calculated guessing if you like, but “Nacho” knows a thing or two about the sport and seems to think that Canelo Alvarez has a slightly greater than 50% chance of scoring the major upset. Stranger things have happened.
If anyone can end Mayweather’s undefeated streak, it’s a strong, confident 20-something talent. The question is whether Canelo Alvarez can be that talent.
