By Francisco Salazar

While one Kazakh fighter has enjoyed the limelight in the United States over the last couple of years, another boxer from that country hopes to replicate that success.

Gennady Golovkin has blazed a trail for Kazakh fighters to follow in the United States. Junior lightweight Bekman Soylybayev hopes to ride that blueprint of success.

So far he has.

Soylybayev will fight Moises Delgadillo tonight inside The Hangar on the grounds of the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif. The eight round bout will be part of a Roy Englebrecht Promotions card.

Soylybayev (7-0, 3 KOs) has made a name for himself around boxing circles in Southern California, where he currently resides. Three of his four bouts in 2015 took place in the region.

In his last bout on December 12, Soylybayev won a one-sided decision over veteran Kakhaber Avetisian. He faces a fighter in Delgadillo (15-13-2) with over four times as many pro fights as Soylybayev, but the Kazakh fighter believes he is up to the challenge.

"It's another fight," Soylybayev told Boxingscene.com over the phone through manager and interpreter Sam Katkovski. "It's a stepping stone for bigger fights down the road. "I'm happy to be fighting for the NABA (USA junior lightweight) title. I believe this will be the first of many titles I could win."

"The training conditions in the United States are ideal for me. I receive all kinds of sparring against the likes of Mexicans, African-Americans, and others (at the Wild Card West Gym in West Los Angeles). (Trainer) Eric Brown is a great teacher. I've learned a lot from him and I've improved a great deal. I'm in my comfort zone when I work with him."

The 25-year-old Soylybayev wants to make a name for himself in the sport. He has flown under the radar as a prospect, not receiving the press other fighters have who are in his position.

Soylybayev does watch a lot of boxing films, and he watches other fighters train in gyms and fight cards he attends in Southern California. Not only does he believe he is capable of hanging with them, but over time, he feels he could beat them.

"I would like to face other prospects when I watch them in the gym, on television, or at an event," said Soylybayev, who is promoted by Diamond Ring Promotions. "I would like to be at the top one day and I know I will have to face these fighters one day. I do want to fight them all."

Some would say Soylybayev may be getting a little ahead of himself, but he has seen what one very famous Kazakh has done so far in boxing with excellent results.

Like any young fighter in Kazakhstan, Soylybayev has looked up to Gennady Golovkin, who has made it known he is willing to take on all comers to unify a division. While that remains to be seen, Soylybayev wants to follow that path of accumulating all the belts in his division.

"We met at an amateur tournament in Kazakhstan in 2013. I was still an amateur and Gennady came to watch. It was an honor to meet him. He has paved the way and is opening doors for all Kazakh fighters to be successful in the United States."

Soylybayev realizes success will not come easy. So far, he has done well for himself, but he is eager to get better in the ring. While success may come tomorrow, Soylybayev is focusing on tonight.

"I'm taking things step by step."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.comor on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing