No1 contender Archie Sharp expects to face Oscar Valdez for the vacant WBO world junior lightweight title.
Sharp has been at the top of the WBO’s rankings for almost a year and has relentlessly banged the drum for a fight with US star Shakur Stevenson.
But with Stevenson now set on moving up to lightweight, ‘Sharpshooter’ hopes the WBO confirm that he will battle it out for the vacant title – and he believes Mexico’s Valdez would be his opponent.
“Ideally, me versus Valdez, is what will happen,” Sharp told Probellum.com.
“I’m No1, Valdez is No3 and so that fight makes sense. I’m blessed to have a great team and I’m sure Probellum can get what we want over the line. At the minute, I’m just sitting here and waiting. I’m just keeping myself in shape and just being prepared to get the phone call to say there’s a big fight.”
He added: “Valdez is a typical Mexican fighter, he’s game, he’s strong and he’s always in good shape. He’s a great fighter and he’s done a lot over the years, but I feel I will do exactly what Shakur did to him and out-box him. And if we put the pressure on him, who knows, we might be able to get him out of there.”
Sharp (22-0, 9KOs) has been chasing down a fight with Stevenson for a long time but says the American’s decision to leave the weight class, means he has instantly shifted his focus to ex-WBC champ Valdez.
But the 27-year-old Brit still believes that one day, he and Stevenson will fight.
“Shakur has been the name in my head for a long time now,” he said.
“And everyone else has been running away from him while I’ve been running straight towards that fight because the fight I’ve always wanted.
“He’s now gone to 135 so, ideally, what I want to do is take care of business at 130lbs and then I will be looking to move up. Regardless the fight is going to happen one day, whatever the weight.
“But for now, the next person to look for is Valdez. Hopefully in the next week or so I can get confirmation but now I’m excited and I’m grateful and I’m blessed to be in this position.”
