By Ryan Burton

On Friday night featherweight contender Eric Hunter (20-3) returns to the ring in the main event of a Fox Sports show against Antonio Escalante (29-7). The fight takes place at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, Calif.

The Philadelphia native has won three fights in a row since being disqualified for hitting on the break against Mike Oliver in 2013.  Hunter said that the plan now is not only to win - but win impressively.

"I want to start knocking these guys out. I know I can outbox these guys but I want to not go the distance," Hunter confidently stated.

Hunter recently signed with Golden Boy Promotions after bouts of inactivity plagued him earlier in his career. He feels he's been able to sharpen his skills with the increased workload.

"The more you fight, the better you look and your pockets get fatter," said Hunter.

Hunter hopes that a win over Escalante leads to bigger and better opportunities. The featherweight division is loaded with the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko, Nicholas Walters, Gary Russell Jr. and many other elite names. Hunter feels he can compete with the upper echelon in the division.

"I respect every fighter but I definitely want to go into something new. I already fight on tv - I want the bigger fights. There are a lot of good fighters in the division and a bunch of money out there. I don't see why I can't be in there fighting for that money," Hunter explained.

The 28-year-old Hunter doesn't want to wait around for the big fights either. He is in the prime of his career and wants to fight for a title as soon as possible.

He thinks a main reason why he isn't where some of these other fighters are at now is because he didn't have the type of team around him that the best fighters in the division have.

He believes he will get those opportunities now that he signed with Golden Boy.

"I am ready for them now. There ain't no waiting around for them. They aren't any different than anyone else. They just have good teams around them that are promoting them right. I'm ready for them right now. I know Golden Boy is looking out for what's best for me. Whatever they say they want to do let's do it," Hunter told BoxingScene.com.

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