By Mark Vester
WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto may choose veteran trainer/cutman Miguel Diaz to run his corner on June 13 when he meets IBF champion Joshua Clottey at New York's Madison Square Garden.
A souce close to Top Rank, who promote Cotto, told El Nuevo Dia that Diaz is going to be selected by Cotto. Top Rank head Bob Arum is scheduled to meet with Cotto on Tuesday and present him with a list of six names to replace Evangelista Cotto, but at least three of the names are already unable to take Cotto due to existing conflicts with training other fighters for bouts around the same time period as the Clottey bout.
When contacted by the paper, Diaz, who works as Cotto's cutman, was caught by surprise when he was advised of the fighter's possible decision but also said that he would love to take the job. He also works with Team Manny Pacquiao, and many others, as a cutman and trainer.
"They haven't said anything to me. I have not had a chance to stop by their [Top Rank] office yet. I was with Pacquiao in Los Angeles. I came back to Las Vegas on Thursday and now I am in Tucson, Arizona," Diaz said.
"If that is the decision [of Cotto], I am very happy. If they are going to name me, I imagine that I will have to go to New York. But to me they have said me nothing."
Diaz says it's sad how Miguel parted ways with his uncle/former trainer Evangelista. The two family members were involved in a heated dispute on Wednesday at their training camp in Puerto Rico, and it quickly turned into a physical brawl when Miguel fired his uncle. The brawl would send Evangelista to the hospital with numerous injuries, but not before he sent a cement block through the window of Miguel's 2009 jaguar.
"Miguel has always been known to separate his personal problems from boxing. It's not as bad that this happened early and he still has two months to train for the fight," Diaz said.
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