Dejan Zavec: 5 Future Fights for the Former IBF Champion

This Saturday, Dejan Zavec faced off against Andre Berto in Biloxi, Mississippi, to defend his IBF title. This was only his second time fighting outside of Europe and the first time fighting in the U.S.

Zavec was unable to pull out a win, but showed a lot of heart, skill and reason as to why he was the IBF champion in the first place. Here are the CompuBox results on punches landed/thrown.

Hopefully this won't be the first and last time we get to see him fight here in the U.S. After that impressive showing, it shouldn't be too long until we see him fighting here again.

Here is a list of five fighters that Zavec may possibly face in the near future.

Mike Jones

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Mike Jones, the fighter made famous by Bob Arum dropping his name as a possible future Pacquiao foe, is supposedly in the works to fight Sebastian Lujan in November or December.

Now, this isn't signed yet, as they're waiting for Lujan to get a Visa cleared so he can come and fight in the U.S.

Lujan recently defeated junior middleweight Mark Melligen on Friday Night Fights where he played the role of a boxing veteran putting an up-and-coming boxer to the test. You may also remember him from his failed title attempts against Antonio Margarito (where his face was brutalized) and Serhiy Dzinziruk.

If Lujan isn't available, then Mike Jones might be fighting on the Pacquiao undercard and will be looking for an opponent. This is a perfect opportunity for Zavec, as this would be an even better opportunity for exposure.

Jones would be a considerable challenge for Zavec as he's one of the biggest welterweights in the division, if not the biggest. He stands at an impressive 6'0" and has a reach of 72 inches. He has considerable power and would try to keep the fight outside, compared to the inside battle he had with Berto. 

Rematch with Andre Berto

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All I've got to say about this is, why not?

I think that there should definitely be a rematch with these two in the future. I'm not saying that this rematch should take priority over that of Ortiz/Berto II, but I'd rather see Berto have a rematch with Zavec than some random person. 

What I'm trying to say is, if Berto isn't fighting a high-profile opponent like Pacquiao, Mayweather or Ortiz, he should get it on with Zavec again. We got a good performance from the two of them Saturday night, and I'd like to see them go at it again.

Devon Alexander

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Devon Alexander announced a while back he'll be moving up to the welterweight division for his next fight after his controversial victory over Lucas Mathysse. While he doesn't have a date or opponent set yet for his next fight, I think a match with Zavec would be good.

This would be a chance for Alexander to show how good a fighter he really is and how well he'll fare in the higher-weight division. He's also evidently ranked No. 2 in the WBC rankings behind the one and only Floyd Mayweather, Jr., despite not having a fight in welterweight yet.

Now, Alexander needs a fight to show that he's ready, and rumors have started floating around that a possible showdown between him and Malignaggi will happen in the near future. Malignaggi already has a fight against Orlando Lora on the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson card. 

If the fight doesn't go through, a fight against a top-10 RING welterweight would be the perfect challenge. Zavec would have to deal with the speed and technique of the young Alexander, but hopefully he can tire him down with his body shots like Mathysse did in Alexander's last fight.

A former multiple title-holder in the junior welterweight division would be a great opponent to add to the Slovenian's resume. 

As long as this fight isn't held in Alexander's backyard again, it should be a fairly good fight.

Rafal Jackiewicz III

Rafal Jackiewicz was the only man to have beaten Zavec before Berto. Since then, Zavec evened the series by defending his IBF title and winning by MD. The series is now split 1-1, so why not have a rubber match between the two to see who wins in their little rivalry. 

A fight could be made for either later this year or early next year, as Jackiewicz already has a match set against Kell Brook as a WBA title eliminator. Kell Brook is out of the question for Zavec, as he seems to be saving himself for Amir Khan if he wins the title.

The first time they fought, it was a really close fight and could have gone either way. Jackiewicz was able to dodge some of Zavec's shots as well as block them while dishing out his own damage.

The second fight was a lot easier to judge as Zavec was the aggressor and pushed the action to Jackiewicz, which ended in him winning in a majority decision. Jackiewicz had a solid defense, but Zavec was the better boxer that night.

They should bring their trilogy stateside so the U.S. boxing fans can see just what they've been missing. Personally, I think it'll be a better showing than some of the HBO main events I've seen this year. If it's not a main event, it should be on the undercard somewhere.  

Shane Mosley

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I know that I'm going way out on a limb here, but why not? I'm fairly certain that despite Mosley's poor showing over the years, he's still going to stay in the fight game. A reason I think so, he's going to need to find some way to keep paying off ex-wife Jin and maintaining his life. His Pacquiao money is good, but won't last him for long.

He might pull a Hatton and officially announce his retirement two years after his last fight. I still think he has boxing on his mind though, as he recently visited Top Rank lightweight Mercito "No Mercy" Gesta to spar with him and his son, Shane Mosley, Jr.

We all know he's past his prime and in the downhill of his career. Why try and put him in a big-name money fight if we know he's going to lose? If he doesn't retire, he'll eventually become a stepping stone for rising boxers.

It's unfair to say Mosley is done yet considering his last three fights. If you look back, his two losses came against two of the best fighters P4P today, and his draw came against Sergio Mora, a man who usually fights middleweight and is now moving up to super middleweight. 

Zavec can be there to help decide where Mosley will take his career. Zavec has people talking about him now and I'd welcome a fight between the two. Mosley may not have the speed and countering abilities of the past, but he still has the power to hurt his opponents.

Also, Zavec can use a name to add to his career, and what name would be better to add than the infamous Shane Mosley.