Oscar De La Hoya has enlisted the help of veteran trainer Nacho Beristain for his fight against Manny Pacquaio on December 6.
Beristain named as Mayweather Snr replacement
Oscar De La Hoya has enlisted the help of veteran trainer Nacho Beristain for his fight against Manny Pacquaio on December 6.
The 'Golden Boy' will be without longtime trainer Floyd Mayweather Snr, who agreed to prepare Ricky Hatton for his November showdown with Paulie Malignaggi before De La Hoya's fight with Pacquaio was finalised.
But the hugely respected Beristain is a boxing Hall of Famer, having handled the Mexican champions Ricardo Lopez, Gilberto Roman, Daniel Zaragoza and Humberto "Chiquita" Gonzalez, and trained Juan Manuel Marquez for both of his acclaimed bouts against Pacquiao over the past four years.
"Nacho Beristain is a great trainer who I have respected for many years, and I'm honored to have him in my corner," De La Hoya said. "Considering that he prepared Juan Manuel Marquez for two fights against Manny Pacquiao, he knows him very well.
"I'm confident that with Nacho's game plan and my execution, we'll be victorious on December 6."
Beristain will be De La Hoya's third trainer in as many fights after Mayweather Snr refused to be in his corner when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jnr last year - on that occasion it was Pacquaio's trainer Freddie Roach doing the tutoring.
"Oscar De La Hoya is one of the premier fighters of this era, and I am excited about working with him for this very important fight," Beristain said. "I already have a plan in mind for beating Pacquiao, and I know Oscar will do whatever it takes to carry that plan through on fight night."
De La Hoya had been hoping to share Mayweather Snr with Hatton if he could entice the Briton to train with him, but clearly such a proposition was impractical.
