By Dan Ambrose: Pedro Diaz, the Cuban trainer for former three division world champion Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30 KO’s), plans on taking Cotto up in the mountains to have him train at high altitude in order to get him ready for his December 1st challenge against WBA World junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (25-0, 14 KO’s) at the Madison Square Garden, in New York, New York, United States.

Diaz told Primerahora.com “We have two or three locations planned, but have not yet made a decision. Miguel will benefit from oxygenating the blood. This is the first time we’re doing it.”

Whatever Diaz can do to help Cotto with his stamina he needs to do it, because Cotto might have won his last fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May if he hadn’t cut out of gas in the last four rounds of the fight. Cotto has had problems with his stamina in a number of his important fights in the past, most noticeably against Antonio Margarito in their first fight in 2008. Cotto also looked fatigued against Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey in those fights, both of which Cotto won but barely.

Trout 26, is a lot younger than the 31-year-old Cotto and he’s capable of out-boxing Cotto in the same way that Mayweather did except that Trout likely won’t attempt to fight Cotto’s fight like Mayweather Jr. did just to entertain boxing fans. Trout will be just looking to out-box Cotto win the fight and not look to impress the fans by going toe-to-toe with him.

For this reason, Cotto could find himself in a situation where he might get behind in the fight early on with Trout racking up rounds due to his superior boxing skills. Trout is the faster guy, with longer arms and better overall boxing skills than Cotto. It’s going to take an in shape Cotto that can fight hard for the full 12 rounds to beat a guy like Trout on December 1st. Whatever Diaz has to do to get Cotto in the past shape possible, he needs to do it. If that means keeping Cotto in the mountains the entire camp then so be it.