???Jeff Horn's camp say they won't be rushed into an unsuitable fight as they continue to plot their way towards a rematch with Manny Pacquiao in 2018 and ultimately a shot at American light welterweight king Terence Crawford.
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After negotiations had continued to drag on, Pacquiao finally put the matter of a 2017 rematch with Horn to bed on Friday when he told Top Rank boss Bob Arum he won't be fighting again this year.
A senator in the Philippines, Pacquiao said he had a commitment with a government delegation to China that would fall right in the middle of his training camp for the fight, which had been booked for November 12 at Suncorp Stadium.
Horn's promoter, Dean Lonergan, said they remained confident Pacquiao would travel back to Australian for a rematch in 2018 but would now look for an opponent for Horn to defend his WBO welterweight belt against.
That fight would likely be on a similar November date but with most of the division's biggest names not available, it's unlikely to be the kind of contest that would draw a stadium crowd, with a venue shift now on the horizon.
"We're looking at options. We want to bring a big fight to Brisbane. We hope to attract one of the other great fighters. Jeff is the world champion so we have a lot more options," Horn's trainer Glenn Rushton said.
"I've already asked if Terence Crawford is available, because he's the only unified world champion. He is not available this year. We now start to look at other fights like Miguel Cotto, Jesse Vargas, who Manny beat to win the world title.
"Keith Thurman's not available, Errol Spence Jnr's not available. We're hoping to make an announcement in the next week as to who that will be and where and when."
But Rushton also remains wary of putting an unsuitable object on Horn's path to what could be a highly lucrative 2018 if bouts against Pacquiao and then Crawford, now one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, come to fruition.
Las Vegas-based Vargas (27-2) lost to Tim Bradley, then bounced back to win the vacant WBO belt, only to lose it again to Pacquiao. He had been contracted to Top Rank, which would make the fight easier to make, and would no doubt jump at the chance of another world title shot.
But perhaps the bigger money fight would be Cotto, the 36-year-old Puerto Rican star who captured his sixth world title on the weekend with a unanimous decision win over Yoshihiro Kamegai to claim the WBO's junior middleweight belt.
He wants a farewell fight in December to end his career and may be difficult to lure to Australia. But Rushton said they would consider taking the fight to the US if the finances stacked up.
Cotto is trained by Freddie Roach, who prepared Pacquiao for the Horn bout in July and would relish another crack at the Australian.
"Vargas is a fight we'd take. He's a tough competitor, he's been world champion, he's held my belt just before Pacquiao. He's be a tough fight and a worthy opponent," Horn said.
"I'd love to fight Vargas or Cotto. He's a massive name, a great fighter. I'd love to fight him."
The catch for Horn is that he and wife Jo are expecting their first baby on January 1, meaning an early December date would be about as far as he could push his luck, particularly if he was away from home.
"I've been told if the baby came the night before the fight, I wouldn't be fighting. There are some people you just don't take on."
