Trainer ni De La Hoya kilala si Pacman

Sino pa bang trainer ang kukunin ni Oscar Dela Hoya kundi ang taong alam ang iniisip at kilos ni Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.

 Kahapon, tuluyan nang kinuha ng 35-anyos na si Dela Hoya ang serbisyo ng Hall of Famer na si Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain ng Mexico bilang chief trainer sa paghahanda sa kanilang non-title welterweight fight ng 29-anyos na si Pacquiao sa Disyembre 6 sa MGM Grand Arena sa Las Vegas, Nevada.

 “Nacho Beristain is a great trainer who I have respected for many years and I’m honored to have him in my corner,” ani Dela Hoya. “In addition to his great tactical mind and 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 gameplan and my execution, we’ll be victorious on December 6th.”

 Si Beristain ang nasa corner ni Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez sa dalawang laban ni “El Dinamita” kay “Pacman” noong Mayo ng 2004 at Marso ng 2008.

 Isang draw ang naitakas ni Marquez sa kanilang world featherweight championship fight ni Pacquiao noong Mayo 4 ng 2004 sa kabila ng tatlong beses na pagbagsak sa first round bago naman naagaw ng tubong General Santos City ang suot nitong World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight belt via split decision noong Marso 15 ng 2008.  

 “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,” wika ni Beristain. “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.”

 Kabilang sa mga world champions na hinawakan ni Beristain ay sina Ricardo “Finito” Lopez, Gilberto Roman, Daniel “Chato” Zaragoza, Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez, Melchor Cob Castro at ang magkapatid na Juan Manuel at Rafael Marquez.

 Naniniwala si Beristain na si Marquez, umakyat na rin sa lightweight division para sundan si Pacquiao at itakda ang kanilang ‘trilogy’, ang siyang nagwagi sa dalawang banggaan nila ni Pacquiao, ginigiyahan naman ni American Freddie Roach.

 “I believe that Juan Manuel won that two fights against Manny Pacquiao if not only Bob Arum and the corruption and boxing took that away from us,” dagdag ni Beristain. (Russell Cadayona)