Mykquan Williams is doing his part to remain focused on the task in front of him, but at times it’s hard for him to contain his frustration.

Unbeaten through 24 fights, the junior-welterweight contender from Hartford, Connecticut is rated in the top 15 by two sanctioning bodies, but still finds himself on the outside looking in at the big fights being made in his division.

“You know how the politics go in boxing,” said Williams, 22-0-2 (11 KOs). “We really don’t have anything that the champions are looking for as far as a title. I feel like I’m right there but it’s up to whoever to give me the shot.”

Instead of waiting around, Williams and his team are taking the more proactive approach of staying busy. Williams, who will turn 27 on Sunday, faces veteran Antonio Moran on Saturday at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The 10-round fight will serve as the co-featured bout to the weekend’s ProBox TV card, which is headlined by a welterweight fight between Ricardo Salas and Kent Cruz.

Working in Williams’ favor is that he has two International Boxing Hall of Famers helping him move his career – promoter Lou DiBella and manager Jackie Kallen. Kallen, whose championship credentials stretch back to her days as the Kronk Gym’s publicist in the late 70s, has seen situations like these before.

“Nobody seems to want to fight Mykquan anymore and now he’s the guy who people are avoiding because he’s 22-0 with the two draws and I think people are starting to look at him as a serious threat,” Kallen said.

Kallen believes Moran, 30-7-1 (21 KOs), is a step in the right direction for Williams. The 32 year old from Mexico City has fought just about everyone in the lightweight divisions over the past decade, losing to former champions Devin Haney and Jose Pedraza, plus top contenders Arnold Barboza Jnr, Jamaine Ortiz and, most recently, in August, Andy Cruz. Of those 38 contests, only Haney and Cruz were able to stop him.

“I think for Mykquan to fight someone who has been in with the top guys it’s a really good test for him, Moran is a pretty good puncher, he’s got a 70 per cent knockout ratio which shows that he can punch,” said Kallen. “Like every test you’ve got to pass the test with flying colors. I’m very confident that he’s gonna do great.”

Trainer Paul Cichon also likes the style match-up, with the 5ft 11ins Moran providing lots of target for the 5ft 6ins Williams to land punches on. “He’s good against taller guys… he’s a great body puncher,” said Cichon.

Williams adds that while he doesn’t watch video of his opponents, he figures Moran will be competitive, given that his losses only came against the best boxers he’s faced.

Kallen, who first met Williams when he was a 14-year-old amateur, says she believes Williams has developed his “man strength” in his mid-20s, pointing to the three straight stoppage wins he scored in 2024 following his draw with Paulo Cesar Galdino in 2023. She says the plan is to fight again in June, and then perhaps again in the fall, but isn’t ruling out having Williams fight four times in 2025.

Kallen says she’d welcome fights against the top fighters in the division, including the WBO titlist Teofimo Lopez, or Barboza Jnr, whom Lopez will fight in New York City on May 2, or even Haney, who is also going to fight on that card against Jose Ramirez.

“At this point I would like to have him fighting some top-10 fighters because Mykquan is in the top 10,” said Kallen. “This fight is for a WBO [regional] title, and he can keep winning all these regional titles but the goal is the world title.”

“He’s not far off at all,” adds Cichon. “In fact if I had my choice we’d be fighting these guys now. I would love to see Teofimo actually. I think he’s made perfect for Mikey. Styles make fights and I think style-wise he matches up great.”

For Williams, he says he cares more about the opportunity than the fighter it would come against. In the meantime, he says he’s staying the course, and working on his craft until he gets to the front of the line.

“I’m gonna wait for my opportunity to come, can’t really bitch and complain,” said Williams. “I just continue to go out there and beat whoever they put in front of me and look good while I’m doing it. I just need to keep going out there and winning and proving that I belong in there with the best.”

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.