SYDNEY, Australia – Tim Tszyu’s new trainer Pedro Diaz dismissed the critical comments of Hector Bermudez after arriving in Australia to oversee Tszyu and Anthony Velazquez weigh in.
Tszyu and Velazquez on Wednesday fight at the TikTok Entertainment Centre at a catchweight of 157lbs, and on the occasion of the Australian’s first date with Diaz in his corner, the experienced Cuban was forced to defend his expertise.
Diaz’s first appearance alongside his new fighter since Tszyu’s return to his home country in preparation for a fight with the potential to make or break his career came days after Velazquez’s and Bermudez’s much-delayed arrival in town.
He had been with Norair “Noel” Mikaelian in Los Angeles for the cruiserweight’s WBC title victory over Badou Jack, and had been criticised by Bermudez – the trainer of Velazquez – for his absence.
Bermudez had also insisted that as a trainer recognised for his success in amateur boxing Diaz is a bad fit for a professional fighter with Tszyu’s aggression, and that in the little time they have had together – Tszyu confirmed his appointment in October – they won’t have had the chance to gel.
Diaz, however, highlighted his time with Miguel Cotto – a fighter in which he emphasised he sees similarities with the 31-year-old Tszyu – as cause for optimism surrounding his chances of reviving Tszyu’s career, and he also reminded Bermudez that what ultimately counts is what unfolds in the ring.
“I’m not aware of the comments from Hector or his team, because I’ve been in fight mode for Noel, and I’m still in fight mode for Tim,” Diaz, speaking via a translator, told BoxingScene. “My objective with Noel was to win the belt back, and now with Tim, win the fight.
“I know Anthony Velazquez is a great, undefeated boxer. Hector is a great trainer; has a great team. I’m not worried about nothing – the comments from nobody, because inside the ring, the only thing that speaks are the punches, and Tim is very well focused, had a great training camp, and Mundo Boxing Pedro Diaz not only works for physical, technical and competitive boxers, we also work for the mental strength of the boxers. When that aligns – the technical, the tactical, the physical and mental strength – the result is always going to be positive. We trust in Tim, and we’re not worried about anybody on the other team and what they say.
“It’s true that I worked with 22 Olympic gold medallists, but I also worked with 22 professional world champions, including Miguel Cotto, and I think Tim is like a similar version of Cotto. When I studied with Cotto, he was with Emanuel Steward, and Cotto was going into [Antonio] Margarito II, a dangerous fight, and people were saying the same – that I had a good amateur curriculum. But if you look at Cotto’s history, there’s two incredible fights – Cotto-Margarito II, and Cotto-[Floyd] Mayweather – in his career, and I was in his corner.
“Tim is coming from his last fights a little serious, and Cotto was coming from something similar to that. He had 31 fights when I studied with him, and a lot of people didn’t trust him, and I think his career grew, and Tim is a great warrior, is very disciplined, he knows what he wants, and he wants to continue shining for this country.
“Tim had to be in [Sydney] so he could adapt to the schedule; the timeline. Every day we spoke; every day he had his training plan; he had the team giving him support. But before Tim studied with me, I already had Noel’s fight, and Noel’s fight was on the 13th, on Saturday, and Tim was fighting on the 17th, so I couldn’t be in two places at the same time. I’m here, on the precise moment – tomorrow he’s going to write his own story. Me and the whole team are here to support him. I respect what Hector’s had to say. [But] that’s his opinion. Not my opinion.
“The most important progress that I’ve seen in Tim in training is that he was a boxer that sometimes fights very frontal. Now he knows how to work on angles; he works with his front hand very well; he’s made a better defence, and we’re going to see that tomorrow.”
Diaz was then asked about how he communicates with Tszyu and if he will be speaking to him directly in the corner, and he responded: “Yes, I do – with him, and with everybody.
“The English that I speak is a technical English, and I communicate very well with my boxers, not only in training, but in every moment that I speak to them. They understand perfectly, but I’ll try something else – I have had Chinese boxers, Russian boxers, I’ve had French boxers… I’ve had boxers from a lot of languages. But in the ring, there’s only one language – the punches – and there’s not one coach that can fight for the boxer in the ring.”
Diaz became the figurehead of Tszyu’s new team after he responded to his second defeat by Sebastian Fundora by separating from his uncle and trainer Igor Goloubev and Glenn Jennings, the manager who also oversaw the fine career of his celebrated father Kostya. Mike Altamura and Darcy Ellis are his new co-managers and Jeff Fenech is his advisor, but Fenech has also already been critical of Diaz’s methods, perhaps partly on account of the fact that he had preached of the need for patience as Tszyu attempted to rebuild.
When he spoke in August No Limit’s George Rose, his promoter, similarly revealed plans for Tszyu to rest and recuperate. The damaging defeat by Fundora was his third in four fights and followed Fundora also inflicting his first as a professional months before Bakhram Murtazaliev stopped him in three, and yet four months later he is returning to the ring against an undefeated puncher who aged 29 may well be in his physical peak.
“I focus on my training,” Diaz said when asked about the timing of Wednesday’s contest. “I have a technical doctor in the team as well that’s in charge of the nutrition; recuperation; and Tim has a great team now that knows how to handle his business. That’s the moment that they chose, and we’re going to see tomorrow.
“I’ve had boxers that have fought with the biggest in the world, and I don’t think that Hector, Anthony and his team are bigger than Team Mayweather, for example, and look what happened in the fight [Cotto was competitive in defeat], or Margarito, or Nonito Donaire. There’s many teams in the world, that sometimes utilise language before the fight – maybe to discomfort the boxer – but I’m too old in this business. Too many years; I don’t use my cellphone in this time; I’m not worried about what people say, because I repeat, in the ring, the punches is the language.
“Australia brings me a lot of memories. It’s a very beautiful country; incredible people, and I was here the last time in 2000 with the Olympic Games. Felix Savon got his third Olympic gold medal, and I was in his corner, so there’s a big, nice memory that brings me – and I recognise and I’m very happy, because in Australia there’s great boxers, great coaches, and I think the boxing family in Australia is very beautiful and deserves a lot of respect.
“[Velazquez has] a professional team.”
