By Jake Donovan

Jamal James was ready to step up in class this weekend. Now he will also step into the limelight. 

The unbeaten welterweight is set for his crossroads bout with Dominican Republic's Juan Carlos Abreu, which will now serve as the new headliner this Friday at Full Sail University in Winter Park. Florida. The bout will air live on Bounce TV, in the next installment of Premier Boxing Champions' 'PBC on Bounce: The Next Round' series. 

The scheduled 10-round clash replaces the evening's original headliner, as Caleb Truax was forced to withdraw from his previously scheduled middleweight clash with Fernando Guerrero. A mixup in getting his medicals submitted on time forced Truax' unexpected removal from the bill. 

With the welterweight bout now topping the bill, blue chip prospect Erickson Lubin will now move into the co-feature slot. The unbeaten super welterweight from Orlando embraces his first true homecoming, as he takes on veteran Orlando Lora in a bout currently scheduled for eight rounds. 

There is still no official word as to whether Guerrero will remain on the show. Efforts to secure a new opponent are still in motion, but getting a suitable replacement on short notice is a tall order. 

James (17-0, 9KOs) fights for the third straight time out of the Midwestern region, as the first 15 fights of his career have taken place relatively close to his home base in Minneapols. The bout marks just his second scheduled 10-round affair. He only needed one round to get the job done in his lone other bout under such circumstances, dropping Wayne Martell four times en route to a 1st round knockout last June.

His most recent ring appearance came in June, scoring an eight-round decision over Michael Balasi.

Abreu (18-1-1, 17KOs) remains in search of his first stateside win, though primarily due to bad luck. The hard-hitting Dominican was dealt a draw in his Aug. '13 battle with then-unbeaten Puro Pairol in Oklahoma, and saw a loss become a no-contest in his 10-round war with Pablo Cano earlier this year. The majority decision verdict was overturned when Cano tested positive for a banned substance, resulting in a $2,500 fine and a six-month suspension which just ended in late August. 

Friday's fight marks Abreu's fourth versus an unbeaten opponent; he is currently 2-0-1 under such circumstances. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene