BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND -- After a pair of stoppage wins over previously-unbeaten opposition in Darren Johnstone and Joshua Quartey, Mark Jeffers accepts Mexico's Ricardo Lara wasn't anywhere near the level of opposition he should face at this stage of his career.

Lara (24-14-2, 12 KOs) has been a pro for 12 years, but began his career at lightweight and floated between super-featherweight and junior-welterweight before the coronavirus pandemic. Since a second-round knockout defeat by Batyrzhan Jukembayev in January 2020, he's boxed ten times from junior-middle all the way to light-heavyweight.

To say this was a mismatch, is an understatement. Nonetheless, the 27-year-old Chorley resident, ranked No. 7 with the IBF, took encouragement from the fact he didn't just go through the motions in their scheduled six-round encounter to kickstart an eventful Birmingham show BOXXER promoted last weekend.

"It was as expected, you know? Get in, get him out of there in a couple of rounds but the level I'm at, I should be doing that. No injuries or cuts is the main thing," he tells The Ring.

Since upsetting the applecart to win English super-middleweight honours against Zak Chelli in July 2023, Jeffers has been open about proving he's the country's top man at 168-pounds.

Four months earlier, Callum Simpson (17-0, 12 KOs) made his BOXXER debut and was already being touted as their moldable star when outpointing Boris Crighton in his first completed 10-rounder.

Jeffers has been eager about testing his skills against the Barnsley man for over a year now and feels they're headed on a collision course at year's end. They share the same manager, Kevin Maree, are on the same promotional platform and theoretically it shouldn't be difficult to make when the time is right.

Simpson will first box Ivan Zucco (21-0, 18 KOs) for vacant EBU European honours at Oakwell on June 7 and his divisional rival, a year younger with three years' more pro experience, is set to feature on the bill.

"I've got a big fight on June 7 and then we push on from there. Simpson at the end of the year, that's what I'm after. Whether that happens or not, we'll have to wait, but everyone knows it's not me stopping the fight. Everyone knows I've wanted it, so hopefully it gets made soon."

At the time of writing, Jeffers is ranked No. 5 with the EBU. No. 1-rated Kevin Lele Sadjo (24-0, 21 KOs) was this month issued an invitation to box Osleys Iglesias (13-0, 12 KOs) in an IBF eliminator, which could indirectly earn him a shot at vacant honours later this year.

No. 2-rated Luka Plantic (11-0, 9 KOs) will defend his WBC International title on a show in his native Zagreb, Croatia on May 23 while No. 3, Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) rematches Jaime Munguia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next weekend after their matchup last December 14 was the Ring's 2024 Upset of the Year.

Spain's unheralded Jose Luis Navarro (14-2, 10 KOs) won the EBU Silver title at the second time of asking, producing an 11th-round stoppage win over Yoann Kongolo in February and as is common practice, inserted into their No. 4 rating.

Jeffers knows the next upcoming opponent already, but insists he's not allowed to divulge specific details just yet. The guessing game begins.

"I can't announce it, he's top 10-15 in the world with all four sanctioning bodies I think, so yeah it's a big fight," he adds.

The conversation shifts onto his development and he needs a minute to think. What's the most important thing you've learned over the past year?

"Setting up shots. Not everything needs to be big, placement is far better than not hitting them at all, I'm just turning my knuckles over now, making little adjustments under Mick and Dave [Jennings, his coaches]. Of course, the opposition isn't high-level but I'm putting those types of people out now where, at one point in my career, I was going the distance with them."

There's an unmistakable buzz around the fighter hotel, some three hours after Ben Whittaker's second-round stoppage win over Liam Cameron in their highly-anticipated rematch. He's told about Simpson's scathing assessment of Whittaker and is asked for the same.

"Realistically given his pedigree, that's what he should've been doing to Cameron, an Olympic silver medallist after all. It was a poor stoppage for me but at the same time, he's given the referee [Howard Foster] an excuse, not throwing anything back.

"Is he what they're making him out to be, I'm going to say no. He doesn't have the punch power, still very amateur style, very good at what he does but someone a bit stronger than Cameron ... I don't know if he'll manage to keep them off him. You look at the top-level guys at 175-pounds, he can't match that."