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Lee Selby got off the canvas to defeat mandatory challenger Eric Hunter this past Saturday in London, winning a clear if not easy unanimous decision to retain his IBF featherweight title, and now says that he wants to face the winner of the summer fight between WBA champion Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton.
From ESPN.com:
"A few top fighters have called me out recently -- Carl Frampton, Leo Santa Cruz. They have mentioned my name and I am open to all offers. I will fight anybody. I will leave it to my manager, promoter and adviser to pick my opponents. I will fight anybody. I am not a fighter who will pick and choose opponents. I want to be the best and I will fight anybody."
This is a classic tricky statement, in that Selby (23-1, 8 KO) says he wants to face the big names, and that he won't carefully "pick and choose" his opponents, but also says that he'll leave it up to his team -- which includes Al Haymon, who also "advises" Santa Cruz and Frampton -- to pick opponents for him.
That said, I don't think there's any reason to be skeptical about Selby's sincerity here. The 29-year-old Welshman surely would like the payday and the opportunity that would come with a fight against Santa Cruz or Frampton, particularly Frampton, given that it would be a big main event in the United Kingdom, and he's always been a very confident fighter.
Another possibility for a big fight could be Gary Russell Jr, the WBC titleholder and another Haymon fighter, who returns on Saturday against Patrick Hyland on Showtime. Russell is expected to win, and told us this past week that he'd love to fight any of the other titleholders in the division, including Selby.