Featherweight contender Michael Conlan made a strategic decision to revamp his training regimen, opting to join forces with veteran Cuban coach Pedro Diaz, as he will now longer train with Adam Booth. The new situation will see Conlan training in Florida as opposed to the United Kingdom.
Diaz best known for his work with Guillermo Rigondeaux, Filip Hrgovic, and Miguel Cotto, will now be in charge of rebuilding Conlan's career as Conlan has been knocked out twice, both in world title fights. Conlan's latest setback was in May, when he suffered a fifth-round knockout loss to the IBF world champion Luis Alberto Lopez that occurred in his hometown. Prior to this, Conlan was knocked out by Leigh Wood in the twelfth and final round of their March 2022 WBA featherweight title fight.
"Pedro has rebuilt fighters," said Jamie Conlan to the Irish News. "He did it with Cotto to beat (Antonio) Margarito in the rematch and to fight Mayweather but we went with him because him and Michael are on the same wavelength, they think the same about how to approach a fight."
Conlan diligently explored various training situations but settled on Pedro Diaz based on a variety of factors. Conlan's brother and manager, Jamie Conlan, pointed to Diaz's known ability to rejuvenate fighters. This is most notable when he led Miguel Cotto to victory against his chief rival and boogeyman Antonio Margarito in a rematch. Diaz was also in the corner of Cotto when he fought Floyd Mayweather which was a competitive fight.
“We went to a few gyms and met a few coaches but Pedro stood out," said Jamie Conlan. "His knowledge, his experience… They gelled well, they worked really well so it’s a very, very exciting collaboration."
No word on Conlan's return to the ring as of now.
