There was a sense of relief that resided over Mykal Fox when he was initially given the call. Following his recent trip to the ring, a highly controversial unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Gabriel Maestre in August of 2021, Fox returned to the drawing board while working tirelessly on his craft.

Although his phone rang much later than he was anticipating, Fox (22-3, 5 KOs) happily accepted a showdown against former title challenger, Egidijus Kavaliauskas. The two will officially lock horns this Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

With an opportunity to face one of the welterweight division’s more recognizable names, Fox is seemingly sweeping his inactivity under the rug. However, moving forward, he hopes that he won’t spend protracted stints on the sidelines.

“I like to be active,” said Fox during an interview with BoxingScene.com. “I feel like the best I’ve ever been is when I’m active. Coming into what they consider the prime years, I would like to be active. Typically, I would want like three fights a year.”

Kavaliauskas, much like Fox, finds himself in desperate need to return to the win column. When last seen, the former Olympian provided a stern test to current hotshot prospect, Vergil Ortiz Jr. Although he would eventually succumb to Ortiz’s pernicious knockout power in the eighth round, Fox admits that he reveres his upcoming opponent wholeheartedly.

In addition to testing Ortiz, Kavaliauskas pushed current WBO titlist, Terence Crawford, to his physical limit through the first half of their 2019 showdown. Nevertheless, despite starting strong, Kavaliauskas (22-2-1, 18 KOs) would once again crumble going down the stretch, resulting in the first defeat of his career.

But regardless of his recent shortcomings, Fox begins salivating as he awaits his turn to take on the 34-year-old Lithuanian. Considering that Kavaliauskas has only suffered defeat against the upper echelon of the division, Fox views a victory over him as a chance to enter the limelight.

“What he’s done as a professional, who he’s fought, this could be a good look on the resume. I just have to secure the win. It puts me in the mix.”

Putting aside his desire to eventually capture a world title, the 26-year-old from Washington doesn't consider a win against Kavaliauskas as the panacea to his championship hopes. More than anything, Fox knows good and well that his pugilistic journey is both long and arduous. However, should he snag a dominant victory this Saturday night, Fox is convinced that his title dreams will become more and more pragmatic.

“The thing I’m really looking to do is really inflict pain with these shots. It can’t be like a split decision, a close fight. Even if I were to get the stoppage, it can’t be a close fight until I get the stoppage. I want people to say wow, shame on whoever kept this kid out of the ring. Then we can get eliminators and things like that. I think it’ll put me in that conversation. The small-term goal is to get into title eliminator conversations.”