Robin Safar had been linked to a bout with WBA and WBO cruiserweight beltholder Gilbert “Zurdo” Ramirez until a knuckle injury ruled out the unbeaten Swede.

Safar, 19-0 (13 KOs), picked up the injury in his most recent bout, a 10-round points win over Derrick Miller in November.

“It definitely interested me,” said Safar of the chance to challenge Ramirez. “I just came off a little small injury on my knuckle from my last fight. So, I tried to push the date back until for the February card, on this Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios card. But it seems like it’s not going to happen. I’m not trying to step into a world title fight where I'm not like 100 per cent, especially when I've been waiting for seven, eight years.”

Ramirez is already booked to face David Benavidez in Las Vegas in May and Safar believes a February date would have made it too close for Ramirez to fit him in beforehand.

Was it frustrating for Safar to be seen as a keep-busy fight while Ramirez sharpened his tools for Benavidez?

“It didn't bother me,” said the Las Vegas-based 33-year-old.

“It actually made me happy, because in my eyes, I feel like if we fought and I beat him, then I should get an opportunity to fight Benavidez, and then fighting Benavidez and beating Benavidez, it could have put me on the pound for pound list.”

There was another issue, highlighted by Safar’s manager Kevin Mubenga, which was that should Safar win, he was not being promised the Benavidez fight.

“There was no guarantee for Rob, if he beat Zurdo, that he would fight Benavidez,” said Mubenga.

“So that was part of the conversation that we were having while negotiating. And then the other thing was obviously moving that date back a little bit, a few weeks back. And since he wasn't in a mandatory position, it was a voluntary defense. They were able to basically say, ‘Nah, we're good. We don't have to, it's a dangerous fight for him.’”

Maybe part of that reasoning is because Benavidez has said he hopes to drop back down to 175lbs and take on Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev rather than stay at cruiserweight.
As things stand, Safar - ranked No. 4 by the WBO - does not have a date.

“What I want to do next is a title eliminator. That's what we're talking about. That's what I talked with Oscar [De La Hoya] about the other day in the gym as well.”

One fighter who interests Team Safar is Bournemouth, England, star Chris Billam-Smith, the former WBO titlist who was dethroned by Ramirez and currently sits at fifth in that body’s cruiserweight rankings.

“I feel like if he wants to fight for a world title, I'm in a position where I should fight for a world title as well. So why don't we fight for the title eliminator to fight for the world title?”

“I think he's in shape. He's a guy who's in shape and he's tough. It seems like he cracking [punching hard] a little bit.”