There are too many excuses to name them all, but one Bruce Carrington heard frequently was "high risk, low reward."

To the other 126-pound champions, fighting Carrington never made sense. In the past, Rafael Espinoza, the WBO belt holder, and Angelo Leo, the IBF titlist, told him that he needed to get some hardware first.

Well, if everything goes according to plan and he beats Carlos Castro on 'The Ring 6' card January 31 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, he’ll wrap the WBC title around his waist. Should he win, the days of everyone looking the other way, he believes, are over.

“I want to unify titles immediately,” Carrington told The Ring. “Like if I have to do a mandatory or something then fine, but I want to unify the division. Once I get this belt, none of those guys will be able to deny me.”

The door for Carrington (16-0, 9 KOs) to become a world champion flung open in recent weeks. Stephen Fulton won the WBC strap by beating Brandon Figueroa on February 1. Although Carrington called him out, Fulton elected to move up.

After failing to make weight for his 130-pound debut against O’Shaquie Foster on December 6, Fulton (23-2, 8 KOs) lost a wide decision. He then opted to drop his WBC 126-pound title.

Carrington, before getting his chance, was ranked highly in all four sanctioning bodies. His desire to fight for a title was somewhat placated when grabbed the WBC interim championship with a win over Mateus Heita on July 26.

Patience is something Carrington uses to his advantage inside the ring. But outside of it, he had to both learn and depend on it. Now that everything has sorted itself out, the Brooklyn native can’t stop himself from smiling.

“I just been waiting man,” Carrington said. “It was frustrating at times but I knew my time would come. Now, I just gotta go out there and take what’s mine.”