Who’s Next For Selby?
Lee Selby was once again victorious in his fight against Mexican Eduardo Ramirez on Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena in London. The fight was originally for Selby’s IBF world title. However his opponent lost that opportunity after he came into the weigh in horrifically overweight.
‘The Welsh Mayweather’ won his world title in a technical decision after a clash of heads stopped his contest against Evegeny Gradovichin May 2015. He has defended the title 4 times since then. But has had a host of problems both professionally and personally in that time. So It’s fair to say he’s not been in the ring as much as he would of wanted to be.
He has said that he wants three fights in 2018. I’ll break down some of the options that Selby has:
Josh Warrington – We know this is his first fight and Frank Warren went as far as to drop a huge hint that their fight will be in Leeds at some point early next year. Warrington is the IBF mandatory. But let’s not forget he ducked a fight with Selby last year!
Carl Frampton – This is the fight Selby seems to want most. They have both been very vocal in wanting to fight each other in the past, although in recent times the Welshman has been the more vocal claiming Frampton “really has nowhere else to go”. With both men’s recent moves to the Frank Warren stable, this fight could easily be made for Cardiff or Belfast in 2018.
Oscar Valdez – The WBO champion has been linked more recently with Carl Frampton, but the chance of a unification with the IBF champ could prove too hard to turn down. Top Rank have scheduled him to headline a card at the Stub Hub Centre, Carson City, California in March 2018. So any fight will have to wait until later in the year.
Gary Russell Jr – The American is a huge talent and one of the fastest fighters in world boxing, but he is wasting his enormous talent. But since losing a majority decision to Vasyl Lomachenko in 2014, he has only fought four times. Selby recently said of Russell Jr ‘‘I’d say that Russell Jr is probably the best of the rest. He’s a hard punching southpaw with probably the fastest hands in boxing at any weight’.
Scott Quigg – The Bury man has had 3 fights at Featherweight since linking up with Freddie Roach in the wildcard gym and is ranked #2 by the IBF. His move to the 126 has been somewhat uninspired. He is slated to fight the winner of the Leo Santa Cruz/Abner Mares rematch which happens in March. But the lure of a domestic world title fight may prove to be his preferred option.
By: Aaron Cooper
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