Shohjahon Ergashev recognizes that he hasn’t encountered anyone as dangerous as Subriel Matias in any of his first 23 professional fights.

Ergashev’s impressive record has been built against mostly modest opposition. That’s among the reasons why the strong southpaw cannot wait to meet Matias in what figures to be a fan-friendly fight Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Puerto Rico’s Matias promised that their fight for his IBF junior welterweight title will result in a knockout during a virtual press conference recently. Uzbekistan’s Ergashev seemingly agreed.

“It’s gonna be a very exciting fight. Matias is very aggressive, very confident and he likes to mix it up,” Ergashev said, according to his promoter, Dmitriy Salita, who translated for him. “And I like to mix it up, so it’s gonna be very exciting. And it’ll be fireworks from beginning to end.”

Matias (19-1, 19 KOs) and Ergashev (23-0, 20 KOs), who is the mandatory challenger for Matias’ championship, have combined to win 91 percent of their professional bouts by knockout. The 31-year-old Matias avenged his lone loss – a 10-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Armenian underdog Petros Ananyan in February 2020 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas – when he stopped Ananyan (18-3-2, 9 KOs) after the ninth round of their rematch in January 2022 at Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Ergashev hasn’t even come close to losing since he made his pro debut in December 2015, but he cannot wait to prove himself against a highly regarded world champion who is listed by BetMGM sportsbook as more than a 3-1 favorite to beat him.

“People have not seen my true potential,” Ergashev said. “Subriel Matias is an excellent fighter. He’s truly very good and it’s gonna be an exciting fight because he also likes to fight. He likes to box, he likes to engage and that will give me the ability to showcase my skills and to be able to raise to the next level.”

As much as this is an obvious step up in competition for him, the 31-year-old Ergashev doesn’t think Matias has fought an opponent like him, either.

“All of his previous opponents wouldn’t last the distance with me,” Ergashev said, “so [his] knockouts don’t mean much.”

Matias-Ergashev will be the second of three bouts broadcast by Showtime Pay-Per-View before David Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) defends his WBC interim super middleweight title against Demetrius Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) in the 12-round main event. The Benavidez-Andrade card is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) and costs $74.99.

For Ergashev, this is the kind of opportunity he has long awaited.

“This my first type of fight [like this],” said Ergashev, who will end a 15-month layoff Saturday night. “I feel the pressure. The country is supporting me and the government is supporting me. I’m the first fighter in this weight class from Uzbekistan to challenge for the world title. So, I definitely feel the pressure. But I’m also very excited. It’s a very interesting fight for me because most of the fighters that I’ve fought have always run from me because they knew of my power. So, they were always very defensive.

“Matias is a very good fighter, and he also comes forward. And he’s also very aggressive. So, I believe it’s gonna be a very fun and exciting fight for the fans because I like to mix it up, I like the give-and-take action, and I know this fight is gonna present that.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.