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IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib is set to swap the humble Sydney suburbs for the bright lights of boxing’s capital Las Vegas after his non-title bout on Friday.
Dib will move up to super featherweight to fight Mexican Juan Antonio Rodriguez at Orion Function Centre in the Sydney suburb of Campsie.
Provided he wins he may well have his next bout in Las Vegas, with his brother and manager Emaid revealing there were a couple of mooted major fights in the United States on the table.
Dib (34-1, 21 KOs) only wants to focus on beating Rodriguez (21-3, 19 KOs), but he knows there is something big in the offing if he wins.
“That’s the motivation, knowing that if I win the fight, after that there’s something big,” Dib told AAP.
“I want to go overseas, I want to get the big fights, I want to give the fans the biggest fights.
“I want to re-establish my name in the USA, and show that I’m a superstar in the making.”
Dib hasn’t fought in the United States since losing a points decision in 2008 to the then WBO featherweight champion Steve Luevano in a performance that attracted criticism over his style.
He has become a more attractive proposition for the influential American pay TV networks, winning nine of his last ten fights by KO.
Dib, who has fought as high as welterweight in the past, said he made the weight easily for Friday’s fight.
He said he had worked on a lot of things and was looking to produce a more complete performance.
“I’ve worked on improving my speed, my footwork, my defence,” Dib said.
“You’re going to see a really smart fight, you’re going to see a very very intelligent fighter.
“Make him miss, make him pay, extremely fast, extremely strong, extremely determined.
“They are the things I usually bring, but I usually bring them one at a time, but I’m going to try to put them all into one thing and put a dynamite performance on.”
Dib is dedicating the fight to the memory of Scott McDonald, a friend who recently died from cancer.
The card also features a fight between a possible future opponent for Dib, Joel Brunker (22-0, 13 KOs) and Mexican Edgar Riovalle (34-13-1, 24 KOs).
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