Miguel Cotto has yet to name his opponent for his first World Boxing Council middleweight title defense on December 13, but several names were already mentioned, including Timothy Bradley.
Bradley has been campaigning at the light welterweight and welterweight divisions over the past several years, but his trainer, Joel Diaz, likes the idea of facing Cotto even if the Puerto Rican champion is now campaigning at a higher division.
In an interview with BoxingScene, Diaz said that Cotto is a strong fighter at the middleweight class, but he pointed out that Bradley used to campaign at 152 pounds during his amateur days.
"Tim is not a tall guy but if you go back to the end of his amateur career he was fighting at 152," Diaz said. "Timmy isn't a big fighter but Miguel Cotto isn't either. With that being the case, we will take the fight."
Diaz also added that while Cotto is now fighting as a middleweight, the 33-year-old has never reached the weight limit, particularly in his previous fight against Sergio Martinez.
"At one point of his career he was at 140 pounds and moved up to 147 pounds and then 154 and then moved to 160 but he didn't even make the weight. He weighed 155 which says a lot. Miguel Cotto is not a big fighter but he is a strong fighter," Diaz said of Cotto.
And if Bradley eventually gets a shot against Cotto, Diaz said that they will utilize Bradley's speed and quickness to stop the reigning champion on his tracks, while also adding that his fighter has skills that are tailor-made for the Caguas, Puerto Rico native.
"We would take that fight because of Tim's ability to move, he is so hard to hit. Styles make fights and I think that would be a great fight," Diaz said.
Bradley, who recently lost his WBO welterweight title after absorbing a unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao in April, has expressed interest in moving up in weight for his return fight.
"My preference would be to go up and try something different, something new," Bradley said in an interview with The Desert Sun. "I already did the 140 thing. I already accomplished a lot at 140. At 147, I've done some things there. I wouldn't mind testing the waters at a higher weight."
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