Welterweight Giovani Santillan was in action this past Saturday on the Lomachenko-Nakatani undercard, winning an eight-round decision over veteran Cecil McCalla.
Now, the 29-year-old from San Diego says he’s ready for something more, and wants to get into contention at 147.
“Every fight I’m learning something new about myself and this fight was no different,” said Santillan. “It’s been over a year since I last fought before going into this fight, and I felt I shook off the rust nicely.
“Now that I got this fight out of the way, I’m ready to step up and face any top ten contenders in the welterweight division. My whole team is working hard to get me a big fight and I’ll be ready when my name is called.”
Promoter Ken Thompson also believes Santillan is prepared to step it up.
“Giovani is on the cusp of a big fight, and I know he’s ready for the next level of competition,” said Thompson. “He’s showing time and time again that he has the grit to always come out on top, no matter who the opponent is. He gets the job done each and every time he steps in the ring. His future is bright.”
At his age, it really is time for Santillan (27-0, 15 KO) to take the shot if he’s going to take the shot, and being with Thompson means he’s not necessarily ruled out of fighting anyone in the division. He probably isn’t going to get a Spence, Crawford, Pacquiao, Porter, or Ugas type of fight — actually, maybe Ugas? — but there are definite steps up, a lot of solid fighters at 147 against whom Santillan could really try to prove himself.