Oscar De La Hoya needs more speed for his bout with Manny Pacquiao, according to trainer Nacho Beristain.
De La Hoya is currently training in the Californian mountains ahead of his December 6 date with Pacquiao in Las Vegas, and Beristain, known as ‘Nacho’, says increasing his man’s hand speed is a priority against such a quick hitter as the Filipino.
Beristain said: “There are three weeks left until the fight with Manny, and we are looking to work on Oscar’s speed. He has reached the peak of his conditioning, so we’re going to try and accomplish an increase in his speed.
“It’s going to be a very difficult fight for Pacquiao. It’s already a huge challenge when you face a left-handed boxer and Oscar has his size and great power to go with it so it should be a challenge for Manny. We need more speed and we have three weeks to work on it.”
However, Beristain believes his man is improving and has no doubts about the outcome of the fight, which is being made at welterweight.
That is requiring De La Hoya to come down from 150lbs, which he fought at against Steve Forbes in May, to 147lbs, while the ‘Pacman’ makes a big step up from lightweight (135lbs).
Beristain added: “I won’t comment on the strategy too much, we’ll save that for fight night. Manny is a great fighter, but a fighter with only one style and that style is not enough to beat Oscar.
“There has been a lot of talk about the weight difference between the two, Oscar is a very disciplined fighter and his drop in weight will not be a factor.”
Meanwhile, Angelo Dundee, who has also joined De La Hoya’s camp as he prepares for his date at the MGM Grand, admits he has been impressed by the American’s commitment.
“I never realised Oscar trains like this,” said Dundee, who in his younger days worked with the legendary Muhammad Ali. “It’s as though he is going to a picnic. He loves to train and he trains as hard as the nice guy he is, he loves it.
“My main concern with Oscar is that he doesn’t leave it all in the training ring. He works very hard, but today he looks very relaxed which is a very good sign.”
Like Beristain, Dundee is also confident about the outcome.
“I feel that Oscar is a better boxer than Pacquiao. Style wise and conditioning wise, I am confident Oscar will beat him.
“Oscar knows how to fight the tough guy, he’s done it his whole life and he excels against this type of boxer.
“His weight will be no big deal. I predict maybe a pound and a half will separate Oscar and Manny at most on fight night. Oscar will dictate the fight for the most part.”
