Pedro Diaz has compared his current fighter Mick Conlan to the legendary Miguel Cotto.
Cotto trained with Diaz, who runs Mundo Boxing , after his defeat to Antonio Margarito in 2008 when he lost the WBA welterweight championship.
The two fighters would run it back several years later, and in 2011, Cotto emerged the winner as he defended his WBA super welterweight strap.
Cotto was an established fighter already when he started working with Diaz, and there are some similarities in the case of Conlan.
The Irishman is 32 and is also looking to get back to his best after he lost two title challenges in the last two years, the first against Leigh Wood in 2022, and most recently against Luis Alberto Lopez in 2023.
Speaking to DAZN , Diaz explained that he and Conlan approached their training camp with attention to detail, and even said there are a few similarities between his current fighter - who faces Jordan Gill live on DAZN in December - and Cotto.
He said: “What I loved about Mick was the chemistry that we had together. I was very disciplined and meticulous about my work, and he was very meticulous in his work.
“It doesn't matter where you are in the world, you are always going to find a soul mate. I saw a lot of similar traits in the greats I’ve worked with, like Miguel Cotto and others. The transition from Belfast to Miami has been very smooth.
“The concerns about age are similar to the ones about Miguel Cotto when he joined my camp, and you will notice there was marked improvement between the Margarito 1 and 2 fights. What I did for Mick was make a few adjustments, and let him still be who he is. We made adjustments to alter the outcomes.”