Abass Baraou’s name didn’t ring a bell until he shelled Yoenis Tellez for the interim WBA junior middleweight title in August.

A month later, once Terence Crawford stepped up to super middleweight, Baraou was elevated as the full titleholder and emerged as a power player in boxing’s most stacked division.

Suddenly, it’s sink-or-swim time for Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) when he heads to the island of enchantment January 31 to engage against WBO champion Xander Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a title unification bout.

“Becoming a champion has made me hungrier,” Baraou said after a recent training session in Miami. “It hasn’t changed my personal life. I’m still focused on boxing. But seeing all the opportunities and the fights that can be made is amazing. It’s made me more focused and hungrier.

“I haven’t shown what I’m capable of yet. I have a lot of experience from my amateur career. I know how to adapt. If I have to fight more technically, I can. I know how to box. However, most of the time, I break down fighters. I can do that best. But it also depends on the situation. I can also show more skills.”

The little-known Baraou, 31, was born and raised in Berlin. He cut his teeth across Germany after turning pro in 2018 and graduated to fight several times in the United Kingdom crossing the Atlantic Ocean to take on Tellez in the United States as the B-side in his career-best win.

Baraou took on Tellez on a show backed by his opponent’s promoter and went on to knock down the Cuban in the 12th round to seal the deal with scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112. The busier Baraou landed 214 of 745 punches compared with 205 of 674 from Tellez in the back-and-forth bout.

“Coming forward is something I do well,” said Baraou. “Many fighters have issues with pressure. I haven’t seen a fighter who can stand a chance with mine yet. So, I know I can bring a lot of pressure in this fight. But we’ll see. That might be the key in this fight. We’ll see on fight night.”

Baraou, The Ring’s No. 8 fighter at 154 pounds, and Zayas, rated No. 5, are no strangers as they’ve sparred in recent years.

“Xander is very talented. He has a lot of skills,” said Baraou. “I’ve shared the ring with him many times. We’ve sparred, so I know he has good footwork and lots of skills.”

In a professional setting, Zayas beat Jorge Garcia Perez in July for the vacant crown he now holds. With the belt, Zayas also momentarily became the youngest male champion in the sport. Baraou is looking to spoil his rival’s homecoming party.

"I will always be myself in the ring,” said Baraou, whose lone loss came against Jack Culcay in 2020.

“Even if the fight were in Germany, I’d have the same mindset. I don’t care where the fight is. There’s a man I have to beat to accomplish my goals. The fight is in Puerto Rico, but it doesn’t add more pressure.”

With another solid showing against an equally unproven champion, Baraou, a plus-265 betting underdog, could be positioned to possibly pull off another shocker on enemy soil.

“I've put the work in, and I'm ready to go to Puerto Rico and become a unified champion,” he said. .