By Miguel Rivera
Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain, best known for training former four division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez, says Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez can restore his credibility by defeating Amir Khan on May 7th from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The surprising match was made on Tuesday, when both sides reached an agreement to collide at catch-weight of 155-pounds.
There is a line being crossed on this match between fans. Half the fans are excited over the unexpected fight, and the other half believe Canelo will be way too big and way too strong for the former junior welterweight champion.
Beristain likes the fight. He is expecting a lot of action between the two fighters due to their styles. He does agree that Canelo will be considerably bigger on the day of the fight, but Khan will hold a very strong advantage in the category of speed.
The veteran trainer does not view Canelo as the winner of last November's fight with Miguel Cotto. He felt Cotto did enough to earn a decision victory. Nacho says a big win over Khan, in impressive fashion, will go a long way with regaining the faith of the Mexican boxing fans.
"I think it's a very good combination," Beristain said to ESPN Deportes. "In a way, it's a great opportunity for Canelo to prove to people that he has something. For me, he lost the fight with [Miguel] Cotto and this is a great opportunity to put on a display, because the Englishman is a good boxer, an excellent boxer. The fight may be short but it'll be high voltage."
"Canelo is very strong; he'll weigh 155 pounds on the day of the weigh-in, and about 170 on the day of the fight. Khan's advantage is speed and that could end up hurting Canelo. The good thing here for Canelo is that Khan doesn't have [Floyd] Mayweather's defensive style. Khan likes to put on a show which means the fight will be spectacular."
"I think Canelo has everything in place to put on a show. I think it'll be sensational from the moment the bell rings and hopefully Canelo can take this opportunity to regain his credibility with people. I like how he fights, he has good skills. I don't know why it has been so tough for him."
