The WBC junior lightweight champion might not have much choice, however, Ford informed The Ring. Foster and Ford had a spirited discussion at ringside Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona, where they watched another 130-pound champ, Emanuel Navarrete, stop Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez in the 11th round of a title unification fight.

Foster wants to add Navarrete’s IBF and WBO junior lightweight titles to his WBC belt, but he might need to grant Filipino contender Charly Suarez a rematch next. Ford disclosed that his promoter, Matchroom Boxing, has presented Foster with an offer for them to fight on an unspecified date next month.

“They talking about April and now we just waiting to see,” Ford told The Ring. "It’s up to [Foster] right now. We waiting on him to do his part. We all know I’m ready. I’m locked and loaded. I been training so I’m ready to go.”

The Ring has learned though Matchroom and Top Rank Inc., Foster’s promoter, have discussed a Foster-Ford fight, it likely would not take place until the summer if the sides reach an agreement.

Ford (18-1-1, 8 KOs) — a former WBA featherweight champ from Camden, New Jersey — is the WBC’s No. 2 contender for Foster’s title and ranked eighth by The Ring. Michael Magnesi (26-2, 13 KOs) is ranked No. 1 by the WBC, but the unknown Italian isn’t ranked by The Ring.

Foster (24-3, 12 KOs) is the No. 2 contender for The Ring’s vacant junior lightweight title.

“It’s still about the belt with him, too,” Ford said. “After him beating [Stephen Fulton], I see a lot of people showing him love now. So, I do wanna fight him … because he do got a lot of hype on him and a lot of people think he’s just this untouchable person now because he beat [Fulton]. I definitely wanna get his name under my belt and take his belt from him.”

Foster, of Orange, Texas, soundly defeated Philadelphia’s Fulton (23-2, 8 KOs) on points December 6 in San Antonio. They were supposed to fight for Foster’s WBC junior lightweight title, but Fulton came in two pounds overweight, which led the WBC to sanction their 12-round fight for its interim lightweight crown.

Fans and media heaped praise upon Foster for his win over Fulton. He wants to fight Mexico’s Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs), ranked No. 1 by The Ring, but Foster has also called out newly crowned Ring/WBO junior welterweight champ Shakur Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs).

Assuming he can’t fight Navarrete next, though, Ford figures their fight should appeal to him.

“He don’t really got many options right now,” Ford said. “And I think he wants to fight, he wants to be active. I think if he don’t fight me, he probably just going to be sitting and waiting for like another big fight or something like that. I don’t think he really got as many options as he thought he would have or how he try to make it seem that he got.”