Months ago, junior featherweight prospect Darren Cunningham learned the hard way what could happen if he looks ahead rather than taking care of business at hand.

Future fights on bigger platforms could await Cunningham but he must take care of business Friday night when he faces Angel Contreras in an eight-round bout at the Celebrity Theater, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Cunningham was unbeaten and the favorite when he squared off against Joseph Ambo, on August 14, in Decatur, Georgia. Ambo entered the bout with a record of 9-2-1 (6 knockouts) and figured to give Cunningham a decent test. Instead, Ambo dropped Cunningham four times in the scheduled eight-round bout en route to a unanimous decision win.

After the loss to Ambo, Cunningham added trainer Rafael Ramos to his team. It has paid off well, with having won two fights. In his most recent outing on February 25, Cunningham knocked out journeyman Ernesto Guerrero in the opening round.

Cunningham (15-1, 8 KOs), who resides in North Las Vegas, Nevada, is grateful to work with Ramos, as they complement one another in the gym, but the loss to Ambo might have been a blessing in disguise to not look past opponents.

“I feel great,” said Cunningham earlier this week. “I am continuing to work with Rafael Ramos and build on the great relationship we have. It is get-back season and Contreras is the next fighter that I must beat to get myself back in the mix with the top fighters in the junior featherweight division. Like always, Las Vegas has the best sparring and I’ve been getting great work. I’ll be very sharp going into this fight.

“I don’t know much about [Contreras]. I have heard he is tough but, learning from my loss, I know I can’t take him lightly. I have trained as though he is the best fighter in the division. From the little bit of footage I saw, he seems like an awkward pressure fighter but he will have to do more than that to have success with me.”

The 24-year-old understands not only does he have to face better opposition, he has to win impressively against it. Contreras is the fifth fighter thus far whom Cunningham has faced with a winning record.

A dominant victory over Contreras Friday night could open opportunities for Cunningham later this year. He cannot afford another loss as it would be a significant setback in a competitive weight class.

He’s is confident he can’t simply be victorious but do so in impressive fashion at Contreras’ expense.

“A win just gets me one step closer to big fights, marquee fights that the fans want to see, and the ones I want to be in,” said Cunningham. “This grooms me to be a world champion and helps me get valuable ring time while putting on a show for the fans. I can’t wait to entertain and continue my march to a world title.

“I want to fight for some form of a belt, a regional belt, or something of that nature [later this year]. My goal is to get into the world rankings by the end of the year and land a big fight with any of the top contenders.”

Contreras (11-5-2, 6 KOs), who resides in Monterrey, Mexico, was stopped after the fourth round by former title challenger Aaron Alameda on November 27. The loss to Alameda took place just over three months after Contreras scored an upset win over previously-unbeaten John Dato.

The 27-year-old fought to a draw against unbeaten featherweight prospect Jalan Walker on April 22 of last year.

Junior welterweight Trini Ochoa (11-0, 5 KOs) will square off against Colombia’s Jonathan Perez (38-30, 30 KOs), who has lost 12 of his last 13 bouts.

Welterweight Alfredo Escarcega (13-0-1, 7 KOs), of Buckeye, Arizona, will face former junior featherweight title challenger Moises Flores (25-5-1, 17 KOs) in a six-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 @FSalazarBoxing.

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