Nacho Beristain knows that Mike Alvarado is a dangerous opponent, but the Hall of Fame trainer vowed that Juan Manuel Marquez will be 100 percent ready in their upcoming showdown on May 17 at The Forum in Los Angeles.
Beristain told BoxingScene that he has already laid out a fight plan for the Alvarado fight, saying that they will train differently in the next several weeks compared to their preparation for previous bouts against Timothy Bradley and Manny Pacquiao.
Beristain noted that one of the changes will be Marquez's diet because they will not need to shed a lot of weight since the fight will be staged at 143 lbs. Marquez fought Pacquiao in their fourth showdown in December 2012 at a 139-pound catchweight.
"One of the things that Juan will have to do for this fight is take care of his weight. In the fight with Alvarado, we don't want to give him any advantage, and the weight is very important. So Juan has amended his diet, so he doesn't get down too low," Beristain said.
Strength and conditioning coach Angel 'Memo' Heredia also said that fight fans will see a different Marquez in his next fight, saying that the Mexican boxing icon will look more active compared to his fight against Bradley because they expect Alvarado to engage with Marquez.
"Every preparation has to be different, as we have to adapt to a new opponent. We are confident that given style of Alvarado, they will engage with each other - unlike Bradley, [Alvarado] will come out to fight and not to run," Heredia said.
Heredia also fired back at critics who are saying that age has been catching up at Marquez as shown by his performance against Bradley in October last year.
"People like Floyd Mayweather Sr. believe that Juan Manuel showed signs of age when he fought Bradley, and that he did not look like he used to, but no one factored in the opponent. He was not the same a fighter when facing someone who is just running around the ring," Heredia said.
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