Melendez's Manager Eyes Top Ten Foe if Foreman Walks

By Rey Colon

Edwin Diaz, the manager for junior middleweight Jorge 'Destroyer' Melendez (28-3-1, 26 KO's), who is scheduled to return to action on June 7 against former WBA champion Yuri Foreman (32-2, 9 KO's), believes Foreman recently announced his retirement as a calculated tactic to improve his purse. Foreman is fighting with his manager and publicly complained about their contract, which led to an unexpected retirement announcement. The fight is scheduled to be part of the Miguel Cotto-Sergio Martinez HBO Pay-Per-View undercard at New York's Madison Square Garden. 

"Jorge is ready to face anyone ranked in the top ten if [Foreman] is officially announcing his retirement. We accepted everything with the purse and fight for the championship of New York. We are a large camp, well motivated and wild. We don't get carried away with our promoter Miguel Cotto and we accepted all the terms. What I want is for the world to see who Jorge Melendez is," he said.
 
Melendez, who is trained by former triple world champion Wilfredo Vazquez, is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Richard Gutierrez to win the vacant Cabofe (WBC) 154-pound title.
 
"We are ready for twelve rounds with any of the top ten [contenders] at 154 pounds. Whoever it is, Jorge will fight. We want a world ranking. We are in the line of battle. We came to have a war and we are well armed. When a 35 year old thinks [about fighting] a boy who is 24 and a wild puncher - he started thinking and said 'wait a minute this may be my last fight and I will not fight for peanuts.' He knows it will not be comfortable for him and he's going to lose," he said.

Rey Colon covers boxing for thesportpress.com