Former Amir Khan opponent Billy Dib contemplating next fight
It seems like the formerly-retired Australian boxer has one too many options to stay on the safe side of the ropes as he aims for one last title tilt.
Billy Dib (45-6, 26KO), who retired from boxing in December 2018, came back to the arena earlier this year to face Amir Khan in Saudi Arabia in July.
Originally, Khan was supposed to face Neeraj Goyat in a main event. However, after receiving serious injuries in a car crash, Neeraj was forced to withdraw from the competition, leaving the space for Dib to fill on the 11th hour.
In the fight between the former two-time super-featherweight champion and the 12kg heavier Brit, the odds were pretty biased towards 'King' Khan. The fight was stopped after four rounds after Dib’s coach Billy Hussein threw in the towel.
Despite his demise, Dib was quickly offered another contest, a much more serious one in December, reports the Australian website casinos-australia.net. It’s not evident, who Dib will fight in this bout, but the WBC interim super-featherweight world title will be on the line and it is expected to take place in Sydney in December this year.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman will allow Dib to fight for the WBC honours despite coming off a loss, which isn't usually allowed, but an exception has been made for showing such great courage jumping up so far in weight to face Khan at the last minute.
However, that’s not where the two-time champion’s opportunities end. Right before Dib was offered the festive fight in Oz, the current WBC Silver super-featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster (16-2) alluded to a match-up with Dib either in Australia or in the States. His manager, Lou DiBella, has scheduled a title defence for his fighter in December.
Foster hasn’t been in the boxing arena since claiming the title in September 2018, which threatens to strip him of the title due to inactivity. Therefore, Foster is adamant about protecting his title and Dib seems to be interested in facing him."I'm ready to put my WBC silver title on the line. Let's see who really wants to come and get it. I really want this fight and my team is on board," Foster told Sporting News as a confirmation that he’s ready to face Dib.
"I'd definitely come to Australia if we had the right amount of time to prepare. I have a fight date in December but no opponent so we can do it in the USA as well."
As of now, Dib has to decide, which competition is more suitable for his interests: a WBC interim title match or a WBC Silver bout against the current champion from Texas. Either way, all roads lead to WBC super-featherweight champion Miguel Angel Berchelt (36-1, 32KO), 27 from Mexico.