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No weight issues for heavy Bradley - Trainer

Joel Diaz is confident Timothy Bradley will comfortably make weight for his clash with Manny Pacquiao © Getty Images

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Timothy Bradley's trainer Joel Diaz is not worried his charge is currently walking around 15 pounds over the limit for his June fight with Manny Pacquiao, insisting his fighter will make the weight with ease.

Bradley will move up to the 147-pound welterweight division to challenge for Pacquiao's WBO crown on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, putting his unbeaten record on the line in the process.

With so much at stake Diaz recognises this will be Bradley's toughest assignment to date. And despite the fact the American is reportedly weighing 162 lbs, Diaz is adamant his tried and tested approach will see that Bradley comfortably trims down in time for the weigh-in.

"We will bring Bradley down slowly but surely," he told boxingscene.com. "I want him at 155 [lbs] for the majority of camp, and then have him right on the dot at 147 by the weigh-in."

Referring to another of his fighters, Vicente Escobedo - who secured a first-round knockout of Lonnie Smith on Saturday, Diaz explained how his technique for shedding weight works.

He said: "We have a nutrition plan that works. I've been working on it for years, and now I've got it down. Escobedo has been fighting at 135 for his whole career, and look at him now. He had no problems making 130 easy, and he doesn't even have problems eating, either.

"Timothy's a big guy. If you remember, he fought at 152 as an amateur. The key was slowly bringing him down to 140 once he got to the pros. There was actually one fight when he came in at around 138 or 138 and a half. That's how easy it became. Now we've got him where we want him to be. You're going to see him in the best shape and he'll be strong at 147 for Pacquiao."

Bradley is unlikely to start serious preparations for the showdown until late March, with Diaz wary of overtraining his fighter.

"I don't want to start him too soon because Bradley works extremely hard," he said. "When I give him the amount of time for training camp, usually the last week of training, I can see... he's a little fatigued, and even though this is the biggest fight of our career, it could work against us by trying to start early."

Diaz is well aware of the task ahead of them, the trainer admitting it will not be possible to replicate exactly what Pacquiao can do in sparring.

"I know getting somebody similar to Manny Pacquiao is impossible. There's no fighter out there like Manny Pacquiao, but we're going to try to get a happy medium, somebody that can give us speed, footwork and a little power."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.