By Miguel Rivera

The legendary Mexican coach and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Ignacio 'Nacho' Beristáin, celebrated 80 years of life on July 31.

He's regarded as one of the greatest champions in Mexican boxing.

Originally from Veracruz, Beristáin has been linked to the boxing scene from a young age, but for 58 years he has been doing it from the corner of the ring, where he has guided some of the best Mexican fighters of all time.

Part of the staff of coaches who saw Ricardo Delgado and Antonio Roldán crowned in the 1968 Olympic Games and got the bronze for Agustín Zaragoza and Joaquín Rocha, Beristáin gave his life to boxing, where he has found these and also some setbacks.

In professional boxing, Beristáin has collaborated in the conquests of fighters such as Daniel Zaragoza, Gilberto Román, Melchor Cob, Víctor Rabanales, Gustavo 'Guty' Espadas Jr., José Luis Bueno, Humberto 'Chiquita' González, Ricardo 'Finito' López, Juan Manuel Márquez, Rafael Márquez, Laura Serrano, Enrique Sánchez, Eric Ortiz, Ábner Mares, Juan Carlos Salgado, Jorge Arce, Óscar de la Hoya, Alfredo Angulo, Adrián Hernández, Carlos Cuadras, Jessica 'Kika' Chávez, Jhonny González, Irma García and Rey Vargas.

"All the people tell me that most of my fighters box a similar way, some even make fun of me because my fighters always come out with a very good guard. When people see someone with a guard like the one I teach, they know that they are my fighter. When they see them boxing they convince themselves that they are my fighters," Beristain said a few years ago in a talk with ESPN Deportes.

His work ethic has been the key. For him, nobody deserves more respect than boxers.

"I like my job, I develop it well, at 8:00 am I am here, I look like my helpers' assistant, because they arrive later and others arrive when I am finishing," Nacho said.