Top trainer Jim Strickland sees a common thread between his fighter David Diaz and the Filipino hotshot the Chicago native will face on June 28 in Las Vegas.

Strickland believes Diaz and Manny Pacquiao are cut in the mold of the fighters from yesteryears where boxers were willing to get hit in order to land their own that they’re evenly matched.

“Manny’s strength is David’s strength,” Strickland said in a story written by noted fight scribe John Whisler that was ran by the San Antonio ExpressNews on Wednesday.

“In many ways, they’re the mirror images of each other. It’s simply going to be a matter of which guy can outdo the other,” said Strickland when told about the rational behind the decision to pit the seemingly flatfooted Diaz with the lightning-quick punching machine from the Philippines.

That’s what the 31-year-old Diaz said during a luncheon press conference at Mi Tierra Cafe in downtown San Antonio as part of a two-day promotional tour.

“I think it’s going to come down to conditioning. Whoever works the hardest, whoever is going to be in the other’s face the most is the one who’s going to win,” said Diaz, who proceeds to Phoenix for another round of press chat aimed at drumming up more interest for the scheduled 12-rounder that takes place at Mandalay Bay.

Diaz, who will be making the second defense of his World Boxing Council lightweight crown, even went further in his assessment of Pacquiao, who will be making his debut at 135 lbs.

“Fundamentally, I don’t think he’s the best. He’s just a real tough fighter. I am the same way.”

Diaz kicked off training camp at the JABB Gym in Chicago last April 19, almost two weeks ahead of Pacquiao, who will formally begin his own preparation early next week under Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. The past few days, Pacquiao has been preparing for Roach’s tough training regimen by working out daily mostly in General Santos City.

Aside from taking the biggest paycheck of his 12year professional career-which is said to be very substantial but not more than million according to industry sources in the States–Diaz sees Pacquiao as more of a stepping-stone rather than a stumbling block.

A victory over Pacquiao, regarded as one of the top two fighters in the world pound-for-pound, will open up endless possibilities for Diaz, whose biggest purse so far was 0,000 when he mauled the legendary Erik Morales into retirement in August last year. When Diaz won the right to meet Pacquiao last March 15 by outpointing Mexican Ramon Montano, he received a measly ,000, an amount that’s only good to pay off some bills and not big enough to chart the future of his wife and two sons.

But Pacquiao, who has been paid in the millions since 2006, is also thinking on the same line and is planning to further build up his name to grease the path towards a lucrative showdown with big-named punchers in the lightweight and even superlightweight classes.

Top Rank head Bob Arum has briefed Pacquiao about earning the biggest total paycheck ever in the Diaz fight “if everything turns out well” and much more should he succeed in becoming a four-division champion.