LAS VEGAS – Derrick James didn’t pay Frank Martin much mind when James’ brother, Maurice, trained Martin at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas three years ago.

Maurice James eventually convinced his brother to take a longer look at Martin. After a meeting with former Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith, who is Martin’s cousin, Derrick James agreed to train a prospect who is promoted by the undefeated welterweight champion with whom James has worked for many years, Errol Spence Jr.

James and Martin are 5-0 since they started working together late in 2020, but they’ll face their stiffest test Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Martin (16-0, 12 KOs), who was born in Detroit and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, will try to better establish himself as a lightweight contender in a 12-round WBA elimination match against undefeated Dominican Michel Rivera (24-0, 14 KOs).

Handicappers have made Martin slightly more than a 2-1 favorite. James, meanwhile, is confident that Martin – a 27-year-old southpaw who possesses power, skill and speed – will separate himself from Rivera, a taller, rangier boxer.

“Frank is better because Frank has more tools,” James told BoxingScene.com following a press conference Thursday at The Cosmopolitan. “[Rivera] throws a lot of punches, he’s a great counterpuncher and he has a great jab. He’s a great fighter, but I think Frank can do all of those things and a little bit more. We haven’t seen Frank’s athleticism, his movement, because he hasn’t had to do it.”

Martin and Rivera have one common opponent, Jerry Perez.

The 24-year-old Rivera clearly out-boxed Perez in his most recent bout, an eight-rounder Rivera won by unanimous decision October 15 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Martin knocked out Perez (14-2, 11 KOs) in the seventh round of a scheduled 10-round bout in April 2021 at Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

Though three years younger, Rivera has more experience than Martin, who only took up boxing at the age of 18. Following a 58-fight amateur career in which he beat eventual welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. in the 141-pound final at the 2016 Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, Martin has developed relatively rapidly since he turned pro five years ago.

“I think this is a fight more about will,” James said. “And I say will because it’s all about how they see each other and how they see themselves. As you heard in the press conference, Rivera thinks highly of himself. And Frank was just like, ‘We’ll see.’ How does that translate into the ring, fighting somebody on this level of competition? [Rivera has] had a great career, but I don’t think he’s faced great competition, as good as the competition Frank has.

“The last guy he fought, who he went to an eight-round decision with, Frank knocked him out. Styles make fights and I think [Rivera will] come in motivated. But I think that he’ll hopefully change his perspective on who he is that night.”

Showtime will air Martin-Rivera as the main event of a three-fight telecast (10 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. PT).

Venezuela’s Jose Uzcategui (32-4, 27 KOs) and Russia’s Vladimir Shishkin (13-0, 8 KOs) are scheduled to square off in the 12-round co-feature, an IBF 168-pound elimination match. Russia’s Nikolai Potapov (23-2-1, 11 KOs) and the Philippines’ Vincent Astrolabio (17-3, 12 KOs) will meet in the 12-round opener of Showtime’s tripleheader, an IBF bantamweight eliminator.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.