Junior middleweight Roarke Knapp had been moving along nicely until he hit a speedbump in the form of unheralded Mexican Jorge Garcia Perez last June and was stopped in three-rounds.

Knapp has since returned to the win column but when the opportunity came to go to Paris, France and face the unbeaten Bakary Samake on Friday, he knew it was too good to turn down.

"I need to get myself back to title contention," Knapp (17-2-1, 12 knockouts) told The Ring. "The fact I've got a shot at the WBC [Silver] title against Samake is a great opportunity to do that and one I know and believe I can win.

"It can catapult me and my career into the right place and where it needs to be and kinda redeem myself from that loss and try to challenge for a world title in the near future."

The 26-year-old South African admits the loss derailed him but has since picked himself up and dusted himself and is ready to jump back into the deep end.

"I carried on like I normally would, it's not something I think about too often and lingers, every now and then, I do wonder where I would be, if I had won but I'm also a very firm believer in that things happen for a reason," he said. "In order to get better, you have to bump your head a few times and that's part of building experience, it's training wheels, it's obviously not the type of loses I want to take at world level but if that's how it has to be, then so be it, if that's what it means to grow and get better."

Knapp, who has been preparing at the Brian Mitchell Gym in Johannesburg under the watchful eye of the renowned Vusi Mtolo, is under no illusion about what he'll face on fight night.

"I definitely believe he's a great fighter; he wouldn't be holding this WBC [Silver] belt if he wasn't," said Knapp. "I think his career has been perfectly curated. I think they've done a great job with him and that's the way it's supposed to be.

"I don't watch a lot of footage; I like to focus on myself and what I'm good at and work on myself. My team that's their job, they study, they do what they need to do, and we build a game plan around that. I've watched a couple of things, nothing to in-depth, I know he's a very slick guy, he's got that Philly shell, he's very clever with his shots, he picks the right shots at the right times, he doesn't waste anything, so I know it'll be a technical fight.

"From what my coach [seen] and my game plan that we've been working on, people have tended to stand in front of him and that's not something I intend to do and it's very difficult to hit a moving target. So, just as much as he's very slick and slippery, I'm going to be slick and slippery, I'm not going to be easy to hit. I think it has the makings of a great fight."

In an unusual move, Samake-Knapp will share headline status with Rapper, Gazo, and despite the large crowd expected, the South African is focusing on the fight.

"It doesn't make a difference if there's five people in the crowd, like Covid, or 40,000 in an indoor stadium, I still have to go there and fight, I still have to go there and do my job whether there's people there or not, so I'm trying not to let that be a factor," he said. "It's exciting one because it's not every day fighters get to fight in front of that sort of crowd and that is something I've dreamed of, so I am excited about that. I do understand the gravity of that, I do understand what's at stake."

This could be a pivotal moment in Knapp's career and also changed his family's life.

"That's why I put in so much work and continue to put in so much work and no matter what happens on that night, I'm going there to leave it all in the ring," he said. "If it doesn't go my way, it's unfortunate but I'm going there to fight my heart out for my family, it's as simple as that.

"Winning that type of fight would be monumental for my career moving forward. I try not to get to concerned about the exciting prospects of that because you can't count your chickens before they've hatched. First stop is to deal with Samake and get the victory and then can address and see what doors have been opened after that.

"I'm so focused on the job; I'm in tunnel vision and I'm not really willing to lift my head out of that tunnel until the fight is done. At the moment it's just full steam ahead, all systems go, April 19, when I've won the WBC [Silver] title, I'm looking forward to coming home to see my family."

Samake (17-0, 9 KOs) turned professional at 17 in 2021. After navigating the early stages of his career, he has impressed with wins over Ahmed El Mousaoui (UD 10), Julio Alamos (UD 10) and, most recently, Wade Ryan (TKO 7).

The 21-year-old is primed to break out in what is already a talented division.