WBA super featherweight champion Alberto Machado is focused on his upcoming title defense on October 27, but that doesn't mean that he's not thinking of fighting the division's elite boxers.
With a division that has the likes of Gervonta Davis, Tevin Farmer, Miguel Berchelt and many more top boxers, Machado has many options of big fights. Talking to Fightful on a media call days before his fight against Yuandale Evans on HBO, Machado said he is aiming to face off against those top names next year.
“Firstly, I’m focused on giving my Puerto Rican brothers a big victory here in New York. I’m just focused on Yuandale Evans on my next fight this upcoming Saturday. But I’m ready and feel prepared to face the big names at the 130-pound division and against those names that you mentioned. I would love to face off against them in 2019, God permitting. I want to give boxing fans and Puerto Rican boxing fans the big fights that they deserve,” Machado said in Spanish.
Former world champion Francisco Vargas recently said that he does have an option of either fighting Eduardo "Rocky" Hernandez in a WBC title eliminator or Machado.
As far as a prediction for his upcoming fight against Evans on October 27, Machado, trained by legendary trainer Freddie Roach, is only looking for the win. Machado is not overly concerned with increasing his already high knockout percentage.
“My whole team is aware of the power I possess in both of my hands, but I’m a fighter that’s committed to his training and ready to go the distance. I had a great training camp in Los Angeles. I hope to not only walk away with the victory, but also shine and have a dominant victory in my second title defense in front of the Puerto Rican people at Madison Square Garden,” Machado said.
Machado’s fight against Evans will be one of the main undercard fights for the main event, which is an IBF middleweight title bout between Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
