Yoenis Tellez and Jaron Ennis appear to be on a collision course.

Tellez will make the first defense of his interim WBA junior middleweight title on Saturday against Abass Baraou at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, in the co-main event of a Most Valuable Promotions card on DAZN.

Nearly two months later, Ennis, the former Ring, IBF, WBA welterweight champion, will move up to junior middleweight to face Uisma Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) in a WBA title eliminator on Oct. 11 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on DAZN.

Should Tellez (10-0, 7 KOs) and Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) emerge victorious, that’d more than likely set the stage for them to meet. And should that be next, Tellez is more than up to the task of facing him.

“That can happen anytime,“ Tellez told The Ring via translator. “I’m going to be crowned champion soon, and Ennis moved up in weight. That fight can happen, and it will be a great fight. I want it.“

Tellez, of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, has made a rapid rise at junior middleweight. In his last bout, the decorated amateur nabbed the interim WBA junior middleweight title with a dominant unanimous decision victory over former unified junior middleweight champion Julian Williams (29-5-1, 17 KOs) on March 1 in Brooklyn, New York.

With the interim belt in tow, Tellez, 25, is well-positioned to either be elevated to full titlist or fight for the title once pound-for-pound great and WBA junior middleweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford likely vacates the belt when he steps into the ring to face Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 13. Regardless of how that plays out, a formidable challenge likely lies ahead given the strength and depth of the 154-pound division.

“I feel like it’s the division with the highest-level fighters of all the divisions,“ Tellez said. “There are so many talented and high-IQ fighters.”

Before Tellez can set his sights on a potential clash against Ennis or anyone else, he must get past Baraou (16-1, 9 KOs), who is ranked No. 1 by the WBA. The German contender has won seven straight fights since losing a split decision to Jack Culcay in August 2020. Baraou, 30, enters the fight on a 14-month layoff since his unanimous decision victory over Macaulay McGowan in June 2024.

“He's a strong fighter,” Tellez said of Baraou. “He’s a tough fighter, an experienced fighter, [and] a very disciplined fighter from what I’ve seen so far of him and a fighter that wants what I have. I have something he wants, and he's coming with it all.

“I’m impatient. I’m just waiting to show how much I’ve been working. ... I’m always going to come out victorious. The fans can expect the best from El Bandolero.”