Rising junior welterweight prospect Brandun Lee will face once-beaten Juan Heraldez at the Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California on Saturday.

Lee is pleased to be returning to action after taking out Samuel Teah (KO 3) and Ezequiel Fernandez (KO 1) this year.

“I think it’s a great test for me – I think he’s my best opponent to date,” Lee (23-0, 21 knockouts) told The Ring. “He knows how to fight, he’s a very smart fighter. He’s a good boxer, he’s light on his feet, he throws a lot of jabs, he uses his head and feints.”

The 22-year-old power puncher expects Heraldez to try to get into his face and make him doubt himself.

“I think he’s going to try intimidate me at the press conference and weigh in,” said the Californian resident. “He’s looking at me as a young naive kid.”

However, Lee relishes the prospect of squaring off against the fighter promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr..

“I’m 110 percent ready for whatever he brings to the table,” said Lee. “And to go out there and do what I do best and that’s knock people out.”

Lee, who has sparred with several fighters at Joel Diaz gym, notably including 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakhram Giyasov, is happy with how things are progressing in his career and welcomes fighting in his home state.

“Being part of Showtime is a great honor,” he said. “Every time I deal with Showtime, they always treat me and my team well.

“I’m super grateful and super excited because it’s an hour-and-a-half for all my family and friends to come out.”

Lee expects to put on a show for his fans and put him in a strong position going into the new year.

“I thought this was going to be my breakout year,” he said. “Unfortunately, Covid still carried on from 2020, so, most definitely 2022 is going to be my year. I’m focused on myself and my fight.

“The main key thing is for me to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s a great card because Nonito Donaire is Filipino and so is [Reymart] Geballo, so a lot of Asian’s are going to be tuning in to watch the fight. Me being half Asian, I think is a great time to get some exposure.”

Lee’s promoter, Cameron Dunkin of D&D Boxing, concurs with young fighter.

“I’m really pleased with how Brandun has stood up this year,” said Dunkin, who is famed for guiding the careers of 35 world champions including Kelly Pavlik, Tim Bradley, Terence Crawford and Nonito Donaire. “I know Juan, I used to work with him, he’s a good fighter, better than the [Regis] Prograis result suggests. He should provide us with a good barometer of where Brandun is at the moment.”

The Showtime event will be headlined by WBC bantamweight titleholder Nonito Donaire vs. Reymart Gaballo and also feature Kudratillo Abdukakhorov vs. Cody Crowley and Lee vs. Heraldez. The broadcast will begin at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter@AnsonWainwright