Ramon Cardenas went from an unknown entity to a contender in a short amount of time. Now he could be a win or two away from fighting for a world title belt.

Cardenas, rated No. 10 by The Ring at 122 pounds, will face Jesus Ramirez Rubio on Wednesday night at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The 10-round bout will stream live on the ProBox TV application and YouTube page (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

At Tuesday’s weigh-in, both Cardenas and Ramirez weighed in at 121.2 pounds.

ProBox TV’s Chris Glover has been impressed with Cardenas’ ascent up the world rankings, but cannot afford to overlook Ramirez in this crossroads bout.

“Ramon Cardenas is one step away from a world title (shot),” Glover told The Ring Tuesday. “He knows he can’t avoid a slip-up. Ramirez is game and right the wrongs against Nick Ball and put himself in contention. The winner could look to fight (former world unified titleholder) Murodjon Akhmadaliev.”

The 28-year-old Cardenas (24-1, 13 knockouts) won by knockout after the sixth round when opponent Israel Rodriguez remained on his stool due to suffering a broken jaw from a punch Cardenas landed. At the time of the stoppage, two of the three judges had the fight even 57-57, with Rodriguez up 59-55 on the third scorecard.

In his previous fight on September 15, which aired on a ShoBox telecast, Cardenas scored a knockout win over previously-unbeaten Rafael Pedroza. In July 2022, Cardenas defeated once-beaten Michell Banquez by unanimous decision that took place at the Alamodome in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas.

Cardenas has displayed more power and aggression in recent fights, having stopped four of his last five opponents. Cardenas has won his last 12 bouts since a majority decision loss to Danny Flores in April 2017.

Ramirez (22-2-3, 16 KOs), who resides in Guaymas, Mexico, was dropped three times en route to a first round knockout loss to unbeaten contender Nick Ball in November 2022. Ramirez returned to the ring over six and a half months later, knocking out journeyman Felipe Carlon Lopez in the seventh round.

The 28-year-old Ramirez stopped fringe contender Anthony Jimenez Salas in July 2022.

In the co-feature, former two-time world title challenger Ronny Rios will square off against Nicholas Polanco of the Dominican Republic in a 10-round featherweight bout.

Rios weighed in at 125 pounds, but Polanco came in over the featherweight limit of 126 pounds, coming in at 127.6 pounds, and only dropping down to 127.4 pounds after the second weigh-in two hours later.

The 34-year-old Rios (33-4, 16 KOs), who grew up in Santa Ana, California, has not fought since June 2022, losing by knockout to then-unified titleholder Akhmadaliev. Rios fought under the Golden Boy Promotions banner for most of his career.

“Rios needs to show that he’s ready to compete again at an elite level, and Polanco sees him as a name he can beat so I expect a good fight here,” said Glover.

Polanco (21-5-1, 12 KOs) last fought on February 9, stopping journeyman Manuel Gonzalez Garcia in the first round. The win snapped a string of five winless fights.

Junior middleweight prospect Marques Valle (10-0, 7 KOs) of Wesley Chapel, Florida will face Tijuana’s Damian Sosa (24-2, 12 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 at [email protected]

Follow @FSalazarBoxing