Fringe lightweight contender Miguel Madueño could be a win away from challenging for a world title belt. For that to happen, he must get by a former world titleholder.

Madueño will face Jezrrel Corrales Saturday night, it was announced Monday. The 10-round bout will take place at the Arena Roberto Duran in Panama City, Panama and will precede the main event bout between former world bantamweight titleholder Anselmo Moreno and Mexico City’s Gustavo Pina.

Saturday night will mark a major step-up in opposition for Madueño (25-0, 23 knockouts), who is originally from Guasave, Mexico and now resides in Orange, California.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Madueño has been very active in the ring, having fought five times in 2021.

In his last bout on December 17, Madueño knocked out journeyman Gregorio Soto Molinero in the second round. His most notable win as a pro came on September 14, stopping former prospect Sonny Fredrickson in the 10th round.

Madueño recently signed a promotional deal with Thompson Boxing Promotions, which is based in Southern California and runs a monthly series of ‘Path to Glory’ cards. Alex Camponovo, Thompson Boxing’s General Manager and Matchmaker, understands the risk Madueño faces, but is confident the 23-year-old can decisively defeat Corrales.

“Miguel has that raw talent and he likes to take chances in a fight,” Camponovo told The Ring in an interview Saturday. “He has charisma, he’s huge for a lightweight, he’s improving, he is really developing his man-strength.

“His fight against Corrales is an eliminator. Miguel can realistically be one or two fights away from fighting for a world title should he be victorious. He’s been in camp over the last five or six weeks in the Otomi (Mountains in Mexico). The win over Fredrickson gave him momentum and showed what he is capable of.”

Madueño has stopped his last 13 opponents.

Corrales (25-4, 10 knockouts), who resides in San Miguelito, defeated Jesus Bravo by unanimous decision in his last bout on October 15. The win over Bravo came less than five months after Corrales stopped Miguel Angel Martinez in the first round.

The two recent wins for Corrales took place after back-to-back losses to Ladarius Miller in July 2019 and to Chris Colbert less than six months later.

In another fight on the KO Drugs card, which is sponsored by the WBA, hard-hitting junior middleweight Johan Gonzalez (29-1, 29 KOs) of Venezuela will square off against Azerbaijan’s Elvin Ganbarov (16-0, 14 KOs) in a 10-round bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing