For the second year in a row, legendary Mexican trainer Ignacio Beristain finds himself deep in the camps of Juan Manuel and Rafael Marquez during the winter months. 12 months ago Beristain found himself preparing Juan Manuel for his watershed clash with Marco Antonio Barrera and Rafael for now classic encounter with Israel Vazquez. Now in his Mexico City classroom, La Romanza, Beristain is putting the brothers through the grueling preparations for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao (Juan Manuel) and the third installment of the Vazquez trilogy (Rafael).
Juan Manuel and Manny Pacquiao’s rematch is scheduled on March 15 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be televised on HBO Pay Per View. Rafael Marquez’s third fight with Israel Vazquez will be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California and televised on Showtime March 1.
Having completed a full day of training with the brothers Marquez, Ignacio took some time to speak with Boxing Confidential.
After the knockout loss in his second fight with Vazquez, are you instructing Rafael to be more of a boxer and less of a puncher in their third encounter?
I am hoping the third fight will have less violent interactions. But with the characteristics of these two men, it is really a coin toss. You throw the coin up in the air and cannot predict the outcome. I think Rafael should have won the second fight, but the referee played his hand for Vazquez.
What do you mean by that comment Nacho, what did the referee do?
Israel had two serious cuts in that fight and the ring doctor did not get the opportunity to look at the cuts. I understand after that fight, Vazquez had plastic surgery on the cuts. The referee kept him in the fight. He did not call for a ring doctor to look at them and did not let the doctor come in and look at them.
With both men preparing in La Romanza boxing club at the same time, what does your schedule look like?
Juan Manuel trains at 1:30 and Rafael at 12:30. I have three sparring partners working with Juan Manuel. Those sparring sessions are quite intense.
Do any of the partners emulate the style of Pacquiao?
No, the come close, they are left handed fighters, but no. Pacquiao is a devil, a pure ball of energy and aggression. That is hard profile to emulate.
Some argue that Juan Manuel might have lost a step since the first go around with Pacquiao, your thoughts?
I think Juan Manuel is a fine, technical fighter; a true boxer. What you have seen is his style change as he has become more aggressive to satisfy the demands of promoters and fans. Before he changed his style, around the time of the Jimrex Jaca fight, he was having trouble getting fights.
Then in his fight with Jaca, he became more aggressive. After that he landed the fight with Barrera. Instead of fighting a beautiful technical fight with Barrera, he was more aggressive, offensive, and was able to land this rematch with Pacquiao.
If you want the big purses now a days, promoters say you need to throw punches, regardless of if they land or not. Those are the sort of fights fans want. Me, I like old school, technical boxing.
Who are some of the fighters you enjoy watching?
Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright. I enjoy technically gifted left-handed fighters.
Do you think Pacquiao has improved?
Yes, he has improved. He has improved technically, behind the guidance of Freddie Roach. His trainer is intelligent, hard working, and a good strategist. Manny’s right hand has improved tremendously.
Is Pacquiao vs. Marquez, as you said, for Marquez vs. Vazquez, a coin toss?
No, this fight is much tougher. Vazquez cannot be compared to Marquez. The tension is much higher and it is a complicated fight for us. Pacquiao has shown improvement, just look at how intelligently he fought against Barrera under the guidance of Roach this last year.
A quick word on Abner Mares’ progression under your training.
Abner is an excellent young fighter, a serious young man. His discipline is incredible and his work ethic cannot be better. He has to be managed carefully. He has a high technical ability, but still needs to correct some errors from his amateur days. Give him three to four fights and he can contest for a championship.
And Vicente Escobedo?
Another hard working young man full of ability. Again he has some habits from his days as an amateur that need to be corrected. If a fighter spends three to four years as a serious amateur, they pick up habits which are not conducive for professional fighting.
In his last fight Vicente did some good things, he just needs to be more secure in himself and his skills.
How much longer Nacho? You have been making Mexican champions for years.
I like to come to work and work hard. I would like to keep working with the same consciousness and humility I have always showed. If I am blessed, two more world champions would be nice.
I know your active with amateurs. As a purist, in your heart, what do you enjoy the most, professional or amateur boxing?
I have a small group of children I teach, just from the beginning. I teach them the technical aspects of boxing and develop them from there. That is what, in my heart, I truly enjoy.
