Boxers and trainers split up all the time. Many top fighters run through trainers at a dizzying pace. But welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. and trainer Joel Diaz were different. Through thick and thin they were like two peas in a pod.
Diaz trained Bradley since his professional debut in 2004 and together they won five world titles in two weight classes -- one of them, of course, being the incredibly controversial split-decision welterweight title win against Manny Pacquiao in 2012.
Most recently, Bradley outpointed Jessie Vargas on June 27 to claim a vacant interim welterweight title. He was elevated to a full titleholder not long after the fight.
Despite the years or success, big fights and big money, Bradley told ESPN.com on Wednesday he felt it was time to move on. He fired Diaz a few days ago.
Diaz was disappointed. He blamed Monica Bradley, Timothy's wife and manager.
"Good things come to an end. It's no a bad thing," Bradley said. "I'm looking for change. A lot of guys change trainers. It's nothing bad about Joel. Sometimes you just need a change."Timothy Bradley Jr.
"After his last fight, I have not heard from Tim at all. He never answered my calls or anything," Diaz said. "Then last week, he came to the gym. He said he wanted to talk to me. I said, 'What's going on?' What he said was his manager had other plans and I am not part of those plans. He tried to make some excuses, like I was doing something wrong. I said, 'I've known you for a long time, you're like my brother, but right now it's out of your control. Your wife took over your career.'
"He said he would think about it. When they were negotiating the [Brandon] Rios fight, I was calling him to see what was going on. I had to go around him and call his father so his father can contact him because I don't even think he had a phone no more. I sensed something was going on. His wife got so involved. She didn't want me involved in the camp."
Diaz said during their meeting at the gym Bradley thanked him for everything he had done for him and voiced concerns about the way Diaz handled recent camps.
"He told me the last few fights things were not the same," Diaz said. "He was upset because I would leave camp for a day or two sometimes to be with my other fighters at fights. That is my job, but I always put Tim first. I said, 'Tim, that's not you talking. It's people in your ear who you live with. If we're going to work together let me know.' He said he would think about it, and two days later [on Sunday], he called and left a message and said he would move on and he would find another trainer.
"I couldn't even call him. I had to go through Monica. It became an issue of his manager taking over everything. She wanted to have control and power over everything. Look, Timothy is a great guy. He has a big heart, but he has people putting things in his head. I trained this kid his whole career. Monica was really cool at first, but the switch came when she became the manager. She'd come to the gym and try to control the training. I was feeling uncomfortable. It was weird. I never had a problem with Monica, never had an argument with her."
Diaz said he was not upset with Timothy Bradley and was not going say anything bad about him.
"After his last fight, I have not heard from Tim at all. He never answered my calls or anything. Then last week, he came to the gym. He said he wanted to talk to me. I said, 'What's going on?' What he said was his manager had other plans and I am not part of those plans."Joel Diaz
"I told him when he came to the gym [last week], 'The problem is not you. I know you from the heart. You are overpowered. You gave somebody too much authority of your life,'" Diaz said. "And I said, 'Good luck, champ.' Even if I'm not with him I will be at his next fight and I will root for him. I have no hard feelings, but I'm going to move on."
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There are, of course, two sides to every story, and Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KOs) begs to differ with Diaz's version.
"It's my call. Ain't nobody make me do anything," Bradley said. "I did it because I felt it needed to be done. A real man wouldn't even blame a woman or my wife. My wife didn't speak to Joel. I spoke to Joel. I told him what was going on.
"At the end of the day, I don't trust him. What's the point of being with him if you don't trust him? If there's no trust, then there's no relationship."
Bradley said the breakup has been coming, but he said the final straw was the aftermath of the Vargas fight.
"Go back to the Jessie Vargas fight and go see if Joel Diaz is in the ring with me at the end of the fight," Bradley said. "He left. Right before they announced me as winner, he just left me. He didn't stick around for me. When we had the conversation, I asked him about it. 'Dude, you showed me you don't even care about me.' The answer was he was pissed off about something else somebody did on the team and decided to leave the ring.
"I was like, 'We've been together for like 10 years and you're going to just walk away? Stand by me, bro. If it's so easy for you to leave me like that, then it's easy to leave anytime.' I questioned if he cared for me."
Bradley said when he returned to the dressing room, Diaz was there with his family. He congratulated Bradley on the victory, "but it wasn't like it was before. It's not the same anymore. I felt like I needed a change. It's nothing bad about him. I'm just saying it like it is. I can't say anything bad about him.
"He blamed my wife, but I've been thinking about this since the fight. I'm a loyal guy, but I kept a lot of things in and I accepted a lot of things, but after so long being Mr. Nice Guy, I had to do this because some things were bothering me."
Bradley said although his wife has significant input into his career -- especially since taking over managing him after his contract with Cameron Dunkin ran out and he did not renew last year -- she does what he tells her to do in regard to his career.
"I give the OK on everything," Bradley said. "My wife is there to protect me, but it's my decision. I make the decisions because I have to live the decisions. I don't like that he blamed my wife."
As for who will assume training duties, Bradley said he has not hired anyone yet. However, he said he has talked to two prominent trainers, Teddy Atlas [also ESPN's ringside analyst] and Buddy McGirt. Bradley said he planned to meet with each soon to work for a couple of days with them to see if they mesh. He also might talk to others.
"I'm gonna talk to my wife and see when can we get them out to work with me," Bradley said of them coming to his hometown of Palm Springs, California. "I'll be fighting end of the year and I need to get someone in here."
Bradley has no opponent yet. The Rios talks fizzled, but he has a mandatory due against Sadam Ali, who could be his next foe. He said he is waiting to hear from promoter Top Rank, which is in talks with HBO, about the next fight.
But whomever he faces and whenever he gets into the ring, there will be a new trainer manning his corner.
"Good things come to an end. It's not a bad thing," Bradley said. "I'm looking for change. A lot of guys change trainers. It's nothing bad about Joel. Sometimes you just need a change. We won five world championships together. I would love to remain friends. Don't want to make this ugly. It's just business. I really like the guy a lot."