Legendary trainer Nacho Beristain at the ripe age of 72 still carries a heavy workload. Tired from a hard day of training, including teaching 30 kids the sport of boxing and in between training Jhonny Gonzalez for his upcoming title defense against Daniel Ponce De Leon; Nacho took some time out to speak to ThaBoxingVoice.com on the next Gonzalez fight and the future of Juan Manuel Marquez.
With the rumors are rampant that we will have a fourth fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao on December 8th, Beristain says to hold your horses. “Marquez- Pacquiao still doesn’t exist just yet; it’s all rumors until it’s finally signed. However, a reason this fight might not happen is if Bob Arum picks Mayweather over Marquez in December,” explained Beristain.
However, should a fight not materialize between Pacquiao-Marquez, many fight fans have been calling for a possible Tim Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez fight. Nacho does not like that for Marquez. “He’s a dirty fighter who uses his head and elbows. While other promoters and some fans are calling for that fight, I don’t like it for Marquez. It’s a tougher fight for Juan because Juan has been fighting all southpaws lately and Bradley is an orthodox fighter. Plus, I don’t think there it too much public demand for the fight. So unless there is a boatload of cash for this fight, it’s a fight we are not interested in.”
At this point in his career, Marquez is 38 years old and is definitely looking to cash in on big fights. Nacho says that Marquez is still around because he’s a great athlete and an intelligent fighter. However, he feels that Marquez at most only has 4 fights left.
A fantasy fight that some fans have been salivating at ever since Marquez made the move to fight between 140-147lbs; has been a bout with Miguel Cotto. Cotto, now at 154 may never fight below 150 again. Money wise it would make sense, two well known names involved in the deep Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry. Beristain said he’s always loved that fight since Marquez was at featherweight and Cotto was at 140, but now it may be too far in weight. “Marquez can’t go up past 145. If Cotto could make 145, we’d love that fight because Cotto’s an excellent boxer,’ stated Beristain.
However, if Cotto wouldn’t go below 150 lbs for a more lucrative fight with Pacquiao, it seems unlikely he’d drop below Marquez, and Beristain concurs. “No commision would approve of a fight for 145 with Cotto, he just can’t come down and Marquez can’t go up. He (Marquez) looks like strong at 140-147 but you can tell his body was different. He looked strong but you saw he was a little pudgy and he’s too small to go up for the 154 lb division.”
Beristain will be in Las Vegas next week for a much anticipated bout with his fighter, WBC featherweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez and Daniel Ponce De Leon. Beristain expects a very tough fight like many of us do. “Ponce De Leon is a dangerous fight; he’s rugged but not a dirty fighter. It will make for a rough fight. We’re looking for a way to control his ruggedness and his punches in bunches with Gonzalez style and his boxing ability. Gonzalez has put together 12 straight wins and is totally a different fighter when he was fighting at 122, you will see that come fight night, and we will come out victorious.”
For Full Audio of This Interview Click Here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2012/08/30/nacho-beristain-gary-russell-ral-martinez-paul-spadafora
