Once-beaten junior welterweight Paul Spadafora, who is coming off last month’s majority-decision loss to Johan Perez, is expected to sign with Golden Boy in the near future, according to matchmaker Robert Diaz.

Diaz was ringside in Chester, W.Va., when Spadafora (48-1-1, 19 knockouts), who turned 38 in September, suffered the setback against the 30-year-old Perez (18-1-1, 12 KOs).

“He had a very good fight with Johan Perez for the WBA interim lightweight title,” said Diaz. “Because he showed that he still is at top level, yes, we will be working out a deal for future fights. He was cut, so we can look for a [Fox Sports 1 appearance] around March.”

Click here for a video of Paul Spadafora.

Known as “The Pittsburgh Kid,” Spadafora had last been in the ring in April for a unanimous-decision victory over Robert Frankel in April. Perez had won two in a row since falling by seventh-round technical majority decision to Pablo Cesar Cano in July of 2012.

Spadafora was once a highly-rated fighter but has been derailed by repeated troubles with the law. He won the IBF lightweight title by unanimous decision over Israel Cardona in August of 1999 and defended it eight times.

“I thought that I won my last fight, but I’ve got to throw more punches. I’ve got to throw more punches. I’m making guys miss, but I’m not making them pay as much,” said Spadafora, who was cut over his left eye against Perez.

“I wasn’t scoring as much. I’ve got to let my hands go and be more offensive-minded as much as defensive. I’ve got to close my distance and stay in their faces more. I’m going to stay busier. Hopefully, my manager [Joe Horn] was talking about coming back in February or March. That all depends on my cut.”

Spadafora worked as the chief cornerman for junior welterweight Rod Salka during his majority-decision loss to Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez, the 32-year-old older brother of Mexican star Canelo Alvarez, who watched from ringside.

Alvarez-Salka took place on the undercard of a Showtime-televised quadrupleheader headlined by Adrien Broner–Marcos Maidana.

“It definitely got my hopes up, and I’m back in the gym and getting ready,” said Spadafora .”I’m going to enjoy my holidays and then look forward to doing something big. I know that now that I have an opportunity, I’m looking forward to making it happen. It’s just about having the opportunity to fight any one of these guys.

“That would put me in the top with the best 140- or 147-pounders. The weight class doesn’t even matter. I saw a lot of things when I was watching Broner fight. I saw a lot of things in Maidana. I think that I could beat Maidana. I think I could do well against both of those guys. I’m not talking s–t, I’m just telling you what I think just from being right there.”

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]