Aussie sensation Michael Katsidis is preparing to face world lightweight champ Juan Diaz but he still harbours a desire to hammer Filipino great Manny Pacquiao.
“We?re ready to honour our commitment with Diaz,?? said Katsidis trainer Brendon Smith.
“We believe Michael will be too strong and outwork Diaz.
“But we welcome a fight with Pacquiao, too.
“We would have no fear about taking the Pacquiao fight after Diaz.??
A purse bid has moved WBO interim lightweight champion Katsidis a step closer to a potential Australia Day world title fight, but doubts still remain over whether WBO world champion Juan Diaz will fight the Queenslander.
Golden Boy Promotions boss Oscar De La Hoya won the purse bid for the fight with an offer of $US1.5 million ($A1.72 million) lodged at WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It was the only bid lodged, with Diaz’s promoter Don King failing to put forward a bid which again suggested the American fighter may not want to proceed with fighting Katsidis.
If WBO, WBA and IBF champion Diaz doesn’t sign to fight Katsidis within 10 days, the Australian will be declared the full WBO lightweight champion.
“I’m very happy with the WBO for enforcing the purse bid, it was overdue but they did it,” Smith told AAP.
“Now we’ll see if Juan Diaz signs to do the fight.
“The fight isn’t a done deal yet by no means, but it’s a step closer.”
Smith said he understood the plan was for a Diaz-Katsidis fight to be a main event bout on American network HBO on January 26.
He couldn’t confirm early reports that if it went ahead the fight would be held in Diaz’s home city of Houston, but said it would probably be somewhere in America rather than Australia.
Diaz was supposed to notify the WBO within 10 days of his October 13 unification title win over his namesake Julio Diaz about whether he intended to fight Katsidis, but did not do so.
Smith believed King did not want to proceed with a purse bid, but the WBO insisted it went ahead.
He said Katsidis was continuing to train rather than fret over the out of ring developments.
“He’s going about his business at the moment, he’s just concentrating on himself and what he has to do and Michael doesn’t get caught up in the rest of it,” Smith said.
