The fire in Oscar De La Hoya’s desire to beat Manny Pacquiao could be aptly spelled in two words: Nacho Beristain.

The name may sound as crispy and delicious as, say, Mexican tacos.

But the boxing genius behind that proper noun could also turn into a complete bitter pill.

That’s if the De La Hoya camp pushes with its plan to hire Senor Beristain, a tested trainer, to work the corner for Golden Boy against Pacquiao in Las Vegas on Dec. 6.

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Of course, it’s hard to compare Beristain to two-time trainer of the year Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s main handler.

Roach, for one, is more visible and therefore more popular.

There’s also no denying Pacquiao could’ve not grown from a raw gem into a national treasure, today’s sensational world pound-for-pound boxing king, if not for the masterful crafting of Roach.

But, mind you, Beristain has also sculpted a few boxing masterpieces, not necessarily less illustrious than the Pacman.

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Beristain, with the quiet sharpness of a champion gamecock, operates almost invisibly.

Cornered by this reporter during the Boxing World Cup in Sacramento, California last year, Beristain reluctantly confided his worth.

Cuantos, how many world boxing champions have you produced?

Seventeen, dies y siete, the moustachioed Beristain, in red-and-white jacket, mumbled as he rushed to catch the elevator at the Day’s Inn lobby.

Thank you very much, sir.

No, no, Beristain said upon stalling, only 16 world champions, one junior champion. Bye.

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So what difference, you may ask, does one senior world champ make for a certified boxing great, a future Hall-of-Famer?

A lot, because the world champions Beristain had crafted were anything but run-of-the-mill.

One of the finest Beristain products goes by the name of Julio Cesar Chavez, the living legend of Mexican boxing whose greatness has yet to be equaled in his country.

Not too far behind is Ricardo “Finito” Lopez, the thin, knife-sharp phenom, a nemesis of Pinoy aspirants like Efren Tabañas and Ala Villamor, who retired undefeated as light-flyweight world boxing king.

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Fight chronicler and international boxing judge Salven Lagumbay says he is not sure if Salvador Sanchez, the prodigious Mexican ring star killed in a car crash, was also a product of Beristain.

But to those who wanted to know more of the Beristain style, they could always review the fights of Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao.

Beristain was there to order emergency adjustments after Pacquiao had floored Marquez a total of three times in the first round of their first fight in Las Vegas in May 2004.

Beristain also crafted the series of counters and combinations which had Pacquiao pitifully on the receiving end during the second meeting with Marquez that ended in a controversial split win for the Filipino hero.

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It’s rather odd that Beristain is being considered to handle De La Hoya only after Floyd Mayweather Sr. had courteously turned down the Golden Boy offer to work the corner against Pacquiao.

Of course, Mayweather Sr., predicting a mismatch come Dec. 6, has been hollering that, in the first place, De La Hoya no longer needs him for guidance and advice to beat Pacquiao.

As a result, Nacho Beristain has been made to appear as a fall-back ploy.

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A complete pro, Beristain, whom this reporter has observed in close-up, cannot be expected to whimper even if he’s only the second choice to work what could go down as the Golden Boy’s farewell fight.

The truth is that, more than Mayweather Sr., Beristain fully knows the geography of Pacquiao’s frailties.

The bigger problem for Beristain, in case he finally gets tapped by Golden Boy, is not in exploiting the glaring Pacquiao deficiencies, mainly in defense.

It’s how to sustain the fire until the later rounds – using what is generally perceived as an old, half-filled oxygen tank De La Hoya would be bringing into his next fight.

Or is De La Hoya left with the lone option of going for an early knockout?