Dib faces fight of his life
AUSTRALIA'S featherweight boxer Billy Dib faces the biggest test of his young life next month when he takes on a Mexican mauler to become the world's leading featherweight contender.
History's richest fighter, Oscar De La Hoya, will promote Dibs's fight with Mexican Orlando Salido in Cabazon, California on March 22.
The winner will become the IBF's No. 1 featherweight contender with a guaranteed world title fight against champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero.
But baby-faced Dib, unbeaten in 17 pro fights and a favourite of both De La Hoya and his business partner and one-time fighting rival Shane Mosley, is just as motivated about the amateur debut of his 15-year-old brother Youssef, who competes in the 48kg division at the Inglis Auctions Complex at Randwick Friday night.
"Youssef is a great little fighter and I'll be at Randwick to cheer him on," said the Sydney boxer, who made his own amateur debut 10 years ago, aged 12, in the 44kg division. "His success will really fire me up for my big test next month."
The Dib-Salido fight will be part of a monster program in the California desert topped by another Australian, Michael Katsidis. Toowoomba's WBO interim lightweight king will tackle Cuba's Olympic gold medallist Joel Casamayor.
"Its going to be a huge night of boxing," said Dib, whose last two fights were on the Floyd Mayweather-De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto-Mosley blockbusters in the US.
"Fighting Salido will be my debut on the HBO pay-per-view telecast in America and it is such a huge opportunity.
"Salido is a brawler, very strong, but he has a similar style to my last opponent, Roger Mtagwa, who I beat at Madison Square Garden in New York. And I beat him with speed and evasion. I'm very confident I can beat Salido and then go on to beat . . . Guerrero."