For years, Rashidi Ellis believed he was being frozen out. It wasn’t until recently, however, that he was on the doorstep of big fights.

All the speedy welterweight contender had to do was take care of business against Roiman Villa in 2023.

During the first few rounds, Ellis looked as smooth as ever but as the minutes slowly ticked by, he began visibly slowing down. Ultimately, things went from bad to worst for Ellis as he was dropped in the final round and went on to lose a close decision.

Since then, his career has been on ice. He did eventually bounce back with a win over Brian Damian Chaves and he is scheduled to return in a few weeks against Jose Angulo but Ellis wants to be a part of the big stage.

On April 12th, in Atlantic City, The Ring’s No. 1 and 2 ranked welterweights will grab the spotlight that Ellis is looking for when Jaron Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis attempt to unify the division.

In terms of a winner, Ellis (25-1, 16 KOs) couldn’t care less. He knows that whoever emerges from their showdown will be the division’s top dog. All he wants, nevertheless, is a chance to prove that he’s better than both of them.

“Of course, of course,” said Ellis during an interview with MillCity Boxing when asked if he could beat both Stanionis and Ennis.

At the age of 31, Ellis knows that he has to make waves sooner rather than later. A win over Angulo, even an impressive one, won’t qualify as that.

Slowly though, Ellis is confident that he will work his way into a big fight with the winner. Before he wrapped his hands and began listening to instructions from his coach, he took the time to succinctly tell everyone exactly why he believes he’d beat either Stanionis or Ennis.

“Hand speed, IQ, smartness.”