Gabe Flores believes former junior lightweight titleholder Joe Cordina’s work is cut out for him when they clash Saturday night.

“I see a domination from my side,” Flores said during a press conference. “I don’t think it goes all 12 rounds.”

Flores’ confidence is running through the roof because he will be fighting in front of a hometown crowd at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, California. The 12-round lightweight fight will provide chief support to Matchroom Boxing’s show on DAZN headlined by Diego Pacheco vs. Kevin Lele Sadjo.

The winner will be ranked as the WBO No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger for the recently crowned champion, Abdullah Mason.

“This is for my city,” said Flores. “Growing up is tough there, and there are a lot of people who don’t have a lot of hope or belief to do something big. I am coming in to win my first world title and show that they can do it.”

Flores (27-2, 8 KOs) has fallen short each time he’s stepped up in recent years. He had one-sided unanimous decision losses against Luis Alberto Lopez in 2021 and Giovanni Cabrera in 2022. Perhaps it was too much too soon for the previously touted prospect. Now 25, Flores is more seasoned and is riding a six-fight winning streak, all the while being a solid ticket seller in northern California.

“It’s another level up climbing the ranks,” said Flores. “It feels good to be fighting back in Stockton. My best performances so far have been there, and I feel great, I can’t wait, and each fight gets better and better for me.

“I think it’s a great style to match up to and it’s going to bring the best out of me … When I have someone that is a good name, it’s going to bring me up and get the best of me.

“Joe is good. His resume speaks for itself. He’s technical and pretty sharp. A shootout suits me. I’d welcome that. That’s music to my ears.”

Cordina (18-1, 9 KOs) is looking to become a world champion once again, this time as a lightweight after a 130-pound title run. Cordina captured the IBF junior lightweight crown in 2022 by knocking out Kenichi Ogawa in two rounds and defended the title against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov and Edward Vazquez in 2023 before a TKO loss to Anthony Cacace in July 2024.

Cordina made his 135-pound debut in July with a 10-round unanimous decision win against Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz.

“I don’t think it goes all 12 rounds,” said Cordina. “It could go to points, but I’m going to get the win, don’t worry about that.”

Although both fighters are promising stoppage wins, their combined 39 percent KO ratio indicates that the fight likely goes the distance. Flores has fought until the 10th round eight times, but this is his first bout scheduled for 12.

“This is going to get me back to where I believe I belong, at the top,” said Cordina. “I know he’s a good fighter and he’s tough, but the step-ups he’s had to that world level, he’s fallen short. That’s not saying he isn’t world level, just that he’s got in the ring with someone that he can’t compete with stylistically … It’s going to come down to the small percentages.”