Talent isn’t enough; instead, you need a little bit of luck and unfortunately for
Reshat Mati, he hasn't experienced any.
As an amateur, Mati (15-0, 8 KOs) took on a few recognizable names. He came up just short against
Teofimo Lopez in 2015 after losing another close decision to
Ryan Garcia, having beaten Vergil Ortiz four years earlier on his amateur debut before their teenage years.
In the paid ranks, those aforementioned names have blown up.
Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) defends his WBC interim 154-pound title
against Erickson Lubin next month, Ring junior welterweight titlist Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) is a two-division world champion and Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) is one of the sport's most popular fighters. Mati, who turned 27 last month, is the youngest of the trio but is nonetheless struggling to stay relevant.
He isn't jealous of his peers and instead, is happy for them. However, he wants the world to know that when it comes to pure skills, he's on their level.
"The guys that everybody views as elite: Teofimo, Ryan, whoever else, I'm just as good," Mati told
The Ring recently. "I just need the opportunity to prove it."
It isn't exactly what he's looking for, but Mati will get a chance to show his skills after a year-and-a-half's absence when taking on Jose Angulo as part of the Danny Garcia-Daniel Gonzalez undercard at Brooklyn's Barclays Center come October 18.
He doesn't expect their matchup to push him towards being a star, but instead presents an opportunity to knock off ring rust and get back to doing what he does best.
"One problem I've had with my career is inactivity," Mati continued. "I've just been injured a lot unfortunately, but I think that's behind me now. I'm gonna be much more active and there won't be any more gaps."
Beating Colombia's unheralded Angulo (16-10, 9 KOs) seems like a straightforward task. The 29-year-old has never been a highly-rated talent and suffered a series of contrasting defeats when stepping up against prospects stateside over the past half-decade.
Despite having just three wins in his last 10 appearances and riding a three-fight losing streak, Mati is still treating him like a world-beater.
This will represent his first fight at welterweight and considering how seriously he's taking his opponent, it's unlikely he'll have much trouble in their scheduled eight-rounder.
"I'm gonna dominate him," Mati continued. "I have to."