by David P. Greisman

Lightweight prospect Ivan Redkach could be back in the ring in April, according to his manager, who is seeking to have Redkach fight a total of five times in 2014 and ultimately to get a title shot within the next 12 months.

“We’re probably looking to do more-or-less a stay-busy fight in April. We’re waiting to hear back from [promoter] Lou DiBella on where and when it might be,” Larry Army Jr. told BoxingScene.com. “Obviously it’d be great for us to get him on the Sergio Martinez-Miguel Cotto card in June. Being a DiBella fighter, I don’t know if it’s possible, because I don’t know if Lou got any of the undercard spots on the card.”

If there’s no appearance underneath Martinez-Cotto, then Army would like Redkach to be back on television in June on ESPN2.

Redkach, who turns 28 in March, is 16-0 with 13 knockouts and 1 no contest. He is coming off a January unanimous decision over Tony Luis that aired on Showtime’s “ShoBox: The New Generation.”

“The Tony Luis fight was a great fight for us from the standpoint that we got 10 rounds of solid work from a kid who was a game fighter and came to win that night,” Army said. “It was the first time that Ivan had been tested at all. From a learning curve, it was the exact type of fight we needed to find out where the deficiencies are. We’re working now on some of the things that he maybe didn’t do as well as he could’ve done.”

Army says Redkach will work on his defense, but is “an exciting fighter, the kind of fighter that people will pay to see.”

He wants to have Redkach’s record up to 18-0 by summer, and up to 20-0 or 21-0 by the end of the year, all in a build-up toward a shot at the International Boxing Federation’s world title, which is currently held by Miguel Vazquez. Vazquez, 27, is 34-3 with 13 KOs and has held the IBF title for three and a half years and through six successful defenses, including a unanimous decision Feb. 22 over the previously unbeaten Denis Shafikov.

“Having the USBA belt is going to help us with the IBF in the rankings as well,” Army said. “The nice thing is the IBF is the one organization that, when it comes down to it, they go by the ratings. Ultimately we’d like to fight for the No. 1 or No. 2 spot and get us a mandatory.”

Redkach also is familiar with Vazquez, having sparred with him several times, Army said.

“I think Vazquez is a pretty good match for him,” he said. “I don’t think Vazquez can hurt him, but he can hurt Vazquez. Vazquez is a great fighter, no doubt about it, but I’m not sure that he can hurt Ivan. Then it’s a matter of Ivan catching him.”

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