Brandun Lee was a hot prospect who had caught the eye and looked like making the next step in his evolution when he was awarded the prestigious Ring Prospect of The Year in 2021.

However, instead of that being the springboard to further accolades it remains his biggest achievement. Since then, he has fought five times, with four of them going the distance and appeared to have seemingly lost some of his lustre.

The 26-year-old junior welterweight hasn’t fought for nearly almost a year.

"I took the time off to focus on my schooling, I've been going to Cal. State college, and I took the opportunity to settle down and finish school," Lee (29-0, 23 KOs) told The Ring.

"This Friday, I'll be graduating with my Bachelor's in Criminal Justice. As a fighter, in the ring, we always have a Plan A, B and C, just in case the gameplan doesn't work - I took that mindset into real life."

Lee, who is promoted by Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions, will end his self-imposed hiatus when returning to action against seasoned Argentine Elias Arajo (22-5, 9 KOs) at Newark's Prudential Center, New Jersey on June 21.

"I'm looking forward to it, being back in the ring and giving the fans a great show," he said.

"Of course I missed boxing, was still going to the gym two or three times a week to maintain my timing. Boxing is what I do and is all I know, there's not a day where I didn't miss it. There was not a day where if I wasn't there physically, I was there mentally."

In an effort to step into the big leagues, he made a big change to his team last August which has allowed him to settle and realign himself before returning.

"My father has stepped down and now I'm training with Robert Garcia," he revealed. "I used to live in the Coachella Valley but now I'm living out of Irvine. La Quinta and Irvine are probably two hours apart, Riverside is right in the middle. So, every day I commute about 50 minutes there, work out for two-three hours and commute back home.

"[I've sparred a] few rounds with [Raymond] Muratalla, he's a great fighter, great I.Q, congratulations to him becoming IBF [Interim lightweight] champion. [Ring and WBC junior bantamweight Jesse] Bam [Rodriguez] is a great dude, most humble person there, so is [junior welterweight] Lindolfo Delgado, we've got some rounds in, a hard-working fighter."

Garcia, who trains a multitude of top fighters, was only too happy when adding Lee to his stable last summer.

"Brandun has been sparring in my gym for a few years already," said Garcia. "He would come with his father last August. He and his father told me they would like me to take over his training. I have a great team of coaches and a very good conditioning coach, so he has fit in perfect. He's fun to have around and I know he has the skills to go far, especially in his weight division."

Meanwhile, Lee was an interested bystander for the recent Times Square event as part of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves on DAZN, where three of the four kings were on display.

"I feel like the word kings and their names shouldn't be in the same sentence. One of them [Devin Haney] ran the whole fight, another, [Ryan Garcia] lost. No disrespect to any of those fighters but they didn't put on a show that it was built up for."

Lee hopes to be soon mixing in that sort of company.

"I'm coming for everyone at 140, I don't care who it is, no matter who is," he continued. "I'm 26, it's time to make a name for myself and get a world title shot. I'm done sitting around, I've come out of hibernation, it's time to go, it's time to eat!"