In March, Rene Santiago travelled from his home in Humacao, Puerto Rico to Tokyo, Japan to challenge for the WBO junior flyweight title against Shokichi Iwata.

Santiago was a 1/10 (-1000) underdog and widely considered to be a soft first defense for the Japanese titleholder. Unperturbed, the 33-year-old fought the fight of his life and ripped the title from Iwata by 12-round unanimous decision.

Santiago's initial hope was for a homecoming defense. However as time passed, his team were unable to nail anything down and now he's hoping to go straight into a unification.

"I want the champions, the big names - the best," Santiago told The Ring. "I don't have time to lose; I want to demonstrate that I'm the division's most solid champion."

"In this sport, greatness doesn't wait. Making an optional defense will be easiest and more secure but I don't want that, I want to make history. I am in my best moment as a fighter and want to take advantage, fighting the best now rather than later. Boxing is about legacy - my legacy will be done with big fights - unification with challenges that nobody wants to take."

Felix Zabala of All Stars Boxing hopes to broker a deal with another 108-pound titleholder.

"As a team we decided to go for the big fights directly and that is what we are working on," said the promoter. "We have received an offer to face [Carlos] Canizales [for the WBC title] in December but he will now face Knockout CP Freshmart at the WBC convention.

"Santiago is willing to face any of the champions Thanongsak Simsri, who has the IBF title, or WBA champion Kyosuke Takami. He is willing to travel, we are working on all options and will make an announcement soon."