The pressure is on for Abraham Nova if he's to find his way back into the world title picture at 130 pounds.

August 16 presents the perfect opportunity for Nova to reassert himself at junior lightweight when facing former WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford in a 12-round bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the undercard of Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte, streamed live on DAZN PPV.

With the chance he has against Ford, Nova is ready to prove the doubters wrong and earn what would easily be the best win of his career.

"There's no fear [and] no doubt in me," Nova told The Ring. "I know a lot of people are calling me out and [saying] ‘Nova is not the same Nova. He's done, this, that and the third.’ We'll see on fight night if I'm done and I'm out.

"I've had a lot of different battles in life and situations I've been going through, but this is my time to shine, show the doubters, naysayers and all the negative commentators and people, don't just look past me. I'm going to come, show you guys I'm still a wrecking ball."

The circumstances aren’t ideal for Nova (24-3-1, 17 KOs), as he’s stepping in on about one month's notice to face Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs). Ford was originally scheduled to face former IBF junior lightweight champion Anthony Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs), but a back injury forced him to withdraw from the bout.

Despite not having a full training camp to prepare, the opportunity to face Ford was too good for Nova to pass up. Ford, 26, is ranked No. 4 by the IBF, WBA and WBC and No. 5 by the WBO.

"I got different calls from different people asking if I want to take this fight," Nova said. “I don’t have the most time to get ready for it, but I'm always active and training at the gym. You don't get these opportunities all the time, and in order to be great, sometimes you’ve got to take risks."

Nova, 31, who began his career 21-0 with 15 knockouts, is 3-3-1 in his last seven fights, which included a knockout loss to former WBO featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez (14-3, 9 KOs) in June 2022 and a split decision defeat to O’Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) in February 2024 for the WBC junior lightweight title.

He got back into the win column on June 7 with a third-round stoppage of Mexican veteran German Ivan Meraz (65-73-3, 41 KOs) at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox.

"I said, 'Hey, I have to fight here,'" Nova revealed. "At Fenway, who knows if that’s ever going to happen again. I can say I shared the space with ‘Big Papi’ David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez [and] a lot of greats that played for the Red Sox and other MLB players. It was a great experience."

When Nova steps into the ring against Ford, it will have been 18 months since his narrow title defeat by Foster. The 31-year-old knows that if there are going to be more big fights or even another title shot in future, he must get past a former titleholder in Ford.

Regardless of the tall task that lies ahead, Nova believes all roads lead to him getting his hand raised on Aug. 16.

"I know how to win," Nova said. "I just gotta find that next gear, and close the show. I don't know how I'm going to win, I just know I'm going to win. If it's a decision, knockout, slugfest, if I’m outboxing him, if it's my skill set, I don't know what I'm going to do. All I know is that fight night, I'm going to fight, I'm going to prevail and I'm going to find a way to win."