Beristain: Chavez Jr. was afraid to throw punches

Nacho Beristain, trainer of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., was as disappointed as any paying fan with the performance his fighter put on over the weekend. When asked for his thoughts on the fight by ESPN Deportes, Beristain offered the following response:

“Really negative, everything, totally, we didn’t win a round. It’s not possible to cover the sun with a finger, Canelo Alvarez was simply better technically.”

Then, when asked if he encouraged Chavez Jr. to change up his approach when it became clear that he couldn’t box with Canelo on the outside, Beristain said:

“I asked him to throw punches, simply to throw punches, but he was afraid to throw a jab or a certain combination because he knew that [Canelo] would return with three or four punches and those doubts were born early and stayed with him for the whole fight.”

When it was then brought up that many Mexican fans were disappointed in Chavez Jr’s efforts, Berstain echoed the same sentiment:

“They have every reason [to be disappointed], me too. He must also be frustrated, his dad too, everyone. He should apply himself behave like a boxing pro and success will come to him.”

Beristain was also non-committal about continuing to work with Chavez Jr. going forward, despite Chavez Jr. indicating he would like to continue their relationship. Beristain says it will require a compromise from both ends but that if Chavez Jr. adapts to his style he thinks he can become a different fighter.