Jamaine Ortiz expects to encounter the Jamel Herring who stopped Carl Frampton two fights ago, not the version of the former WBO junior lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson soundly defeated in his last appearance.

Herring is 36 and Stevenson stopped him in the 10th round of their one-sided October 23 fight at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The accomplished southpaw still is by far the best opponent of Ortiz’s six-year pro career.

ESPN will televise the Herring-Ortiz fight Saturday night as part of a three-bout broadcast from Resorts World Las Vegas (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT).

“I do think it’s a step up in competition,” Ortiz told BoxingScene.com. “Obviously, fighting a former world champion is a step up in class. He defended his title multiple times. Like they mentioned [at the press conference], the last time he wasn’t a champion was in 2019. So, this is definitely a step up in caliber and class, fighting a former Olympian. In every single way it’s a step up. And it’s gonna prove to myself, prove to the people, what kind of fighter I am.”

The 26-year-old Ortiz (15-0-1, 8 KOs), of Worcester, Massachusetts, comfortably beat Philadelphia’s Nahir Albright (14-2, 7 KOs) on points in his last fight, a 10-rounder February 18 at Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. Beating Herring, however, would elevate Ortiz to a different level in the lightweight division.

“I hope it skyrockets my career,” Ortiz said, “makes me a contender, puts me in the conversation with the other lightweights and gets me more high-profile fights.”

Herring (23-3, 11 KOs) wants to re-establish himself following a subpar performance against Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs), a 24-year-old, two-division champion who has emerged as one of the best boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport. Cincinnati’s Herring had hoped for another higher-profile fight after his loss to Stevenson, but lightweight contender Richard Commey passed on facing Herring and junior lightweight contender Robson Conceicao encountered a visa issue that temporarily prevented him from entering the United States for a fight with Herring.

“You know, I think he still has a lot to offer in the sense of his hard work, dedication, his grit,” said Ortiz, who fought to an eight-round majority draw with Joseph Adorno two fights ago. “You know, that’s gonna come into play. I’m not gonna forget about that. It’s definitely gonna come into play. You know, I’m expecting the best Jamel Herring on Saturday.”

Sportsbooks have installed the largely unknown Ortiz as more than a 2-1 favorite to beat Herring in ESPN’s co-feature, a 10-round lightweight fight.

“I don’t pay too much mind to it,” Ortiz said, “but somebody’s got an opinion that they think I’m gonna win. So, we’ll see.”

Following Herring-Ortiz, ESPN will televise a 12-round main event in which Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7 KOs) and England’s Danny Dignum (14-0-1, 8 KOs) will fight for the vacant WBO interim middleweight title.

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