Brandun Lee may have a chip on his shoulder building up an unbeaten record thus far, but he is not taking any opponent for granted.

The same holds true Wednesday night as he takes a significant step-up in opposition when he faces Jimmy Williams at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The eight-round welterweight bout will open the ‘ShoBox’ telecast (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).

In the main event, unbeaten junior middleweights Charles Conwell (12-0, 9 knockouts) and Wendy Toussaint (12-0, 5 KOs) will square off in a 10-round bout.

Lee (19-0, 17 KOs), who resides in La Quinta, California, last fought on March 13, battering Camilo Prieto before stopping him in round 3 in Hinckley, Minnesota. The fight was the last ‘ShoBox’ telecast prior to boxing going on hiatus for several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 21-year-old will face a fighter in Williams, who on paper, will be Lee’s toughest opponent to date. In his last bout on October 11 of last year, Williams fought to a draw against journeyman Jose Medina in Hartford, Connecticut, not far from his hometown of New Haven.

Williams (16-3-2, 5 KOs) is winless in his last three bouts and has only won twice in his previous six, but the 34-year-old has faced the better opposition between the two. Despite Lee being the favorite and house fighter, he is not taking Williams for granted.

“What stands out about him is that he has one hell of a jab and he uses it really well,” Lee told Boxingscene Saturday night. “He’s physically bigger than me, so it’s going to be one of those push-pull type of fights. I see this fight as a significant challenge, one I’m up for. He is the best opponent I’ve faced thus far as a pro.”

Lee may be a facing a stern test in Williams, but he believes he has faced stiffer challenges in the gym in nearby Indio, California. Since turning pro in January 2017, Lee has regularly sparred world titleholders, contenders and top prospects.

Nothing has changed for Lee, including for his upcoming bout against Williams, and is confident the sparring he recently received will pay dividends Wednesday night.

“I was scheduled to fight on September 19, so I was able to get more work in,” said Lee, who is a full-time college student studying criminal justice at California State University, San Bernardino. “For that fight on September 19, I was sparring (unbeaten fighters) Israil Madrimov and Shakhram Giyasov. For this fight, I went to Palmdale (California) and was sparring Kevin Joshua for six weeks.”

Lee hopes a win over Williams could continue opening more doors for him as a pro. He would like to fight again before the end of 2020, specifically in late November or early December.

While he can also site winning a world title belt as a motivational tool, Lee focuses on two attributes on what motivates him to fight.

“There’s two factors that really motivate me,” said Lee, who is represented by Cameron Dunkin and trained by his father Bobby Lee. “I’m the type of person that always starts and finishes something. It’s the same with school. I started and I will earn my Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. I’m a year and a half away from getting, but with boxing, it might take me three years to get it.

“Another motivation for me is my older brother Jhong. He used to fight, but had to stop because of heart problems. I feel like I’m living out his dream of being a fighter.”

Lee is eager to ascend into contender status while also feeding knockout wins to satisfy boxing fans. While his fight against Williams will mark his third appearance on ‘ShoBox,’ he is glad to see his popularity as a fighter increase.

Lee hopes to continue using the Showtime platform to showcase his ability.

“I love the attention I’m getting. When I was in junior high and high school, I enjoyed the attention I got in class. After my appearances on ‘ShoBox,’ I’ve gotten fans complimenting me. They say ‘Nice knockout.’ ‘You’re beast.’ As much as I enjoy, I can’t let all that get to my head.”

“Despite the time away from boxing because of the pandemic, it hasn’t been that tough. I’ve always been in the gym. With what’s going on, you have to live day-by-day. I just continue moving forward.”

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