By Norm Frauenheim-
LAS VEGAS – A Mexican Boxing Hall of Fame should be named after Nacho Beristain. If Julio Cesar Chavez is the national face of the game, Beristain is its architect.
From Ricardo Lopez to Juan Manuel Marquez, Beristain has been in a Mexican corner for about half a century. He’s strategist and tactician, disciplinarian and father figure.
But can he make a difference for the son of a father whose scarred face and intense eyes are a defining part of the Mexican legend?
In the build-up for the son’s 164.5-pound bout against Canelo Alvarez Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena, here’s been a lot of talk about a different, more mature Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He’s taken on more responsibility. He’s a dad with a 3-year-old daughter. He’s given up the slacker ways that so exasperated anyone who thought he would have some of dad’s trademark toughness.
The story about Chavez Jr., the changed man, inescapably leads to Beristain. The trainer’s stubborn adherence to a Spartan regimen was thought to be a true test of whether Chavez Jr., would finally rise to a role he presumably inherited from his famous father. With Beristain, the world and Mexico would finally learn whether Junior was born to be a fighter.
“Beristain has the character to train me,’’ Chavez Jr. said after arriving in Las Vegas for the HBO pay-per-view bout.
The suggestion is that Freddie Roach was the wrong trainer for Chavez Jr., who came and went on his own accord in a regimen with roadwork that might have included a few late-night laps around a couch in a Vegas condo before a loss to Sergio Martinez.
But there’s more to it than that. Beristain’s name, international reputation and fierce pride were also a way to prevent his father from interfering. It was Bersitain’s camp, high in the mountains near Mexico City.
Midway through training, Chavez Jr. told Beristain that he wanted to leave the mountains a little earlier than planned and move his training to Vegas. Beristain reportedly looked at him and said: Go ahead, but you’ll go without me.
Chavez stayed on the mountaintop, far from curious media and a meddling dad.
“I’ve learned a lot from my father, but he’s not the trainer,’’ Chavez Jr. said.
The best guess is that Chavez Sr. won’t be anywhere near his son’s corner Saturday night. Instead, Chavez Sr. said this week, he’ll be working as a television commentator. That could prove to be a tough gig if the 5.5-to-1 odds favoring Canelo are accurate.
Then again, Chavez Jr. might have a better shot without his father’s demanding voice in his ear between rounds. But even one of the most respected voices in the world might not be enough. Beristain is a great trainer, but that doesn’t make him a miracle worker.
“Beristain will not make any difference,’’ said Rafael Mendoza, a former Mexican journalist and Hall of Fame manager who was Canelo’s first pro advisor.
In the end, Mendoza, of Guadalajara, said it’s all up to how hard Chavez trained and how hard he is willing to fight.
At 31, it’s hard to break old habits. Chavez Jr. has 53 bouts on his pro resume. But Canelo has a big advantage in world-class experience, including a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. What more, Canelo had a long and varied amateur career. Chavez Jr. fought as an amateur only twice, bout against Jorge Paez Jr.
There’s an argument that Beristain’s smarts and world class experience in the corner can make up for what Chavez never learned as a teenager.
“This is very different,’’ Beristain said Thursday. “I’m training a fighter for the first time against the guy everybody says is Mexico’s best fighter.
“But, yes, I’m confident we can win.’’
Then, Beristain went on to say: “For us, this is going to be the night of the witches.’’
He didn’t explain what he meant. But there were plenty of interpretations up and down press row. To wit: Chavez Jr. is cursed, or else he’ll need a witch to beat Canelo.
