By Francisco Salazar

Sullivan Barrera is in the right frame of mind heading into his big clash tonight.

Not only does he believe all the pressure is on Joe Smith to pull out a victory, but he finally has someone close to him who he has not seen in years.

Barrera also believes he is one of the best fighters at 175 pounds and will further cement that with an impressive performance tonight.

Barrera and Smith will clash in a light heavyweight bout tonight at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The 12 round bout open a three-bout telecast on HBO (9:50 p.m. ET/ 6:50 p.m. PT).

Smith is best known for his eighth round knockout defeat of Bernard Hopkins on December 17, where Hopkins was knocked through the ring ropes and onto the floor of The Forum.

Barrera (19-1, with 14 KOs) respects Smith, but believes he is the more talented fighter of the two.

"This is an interesting fight," Barrera told BoxingScene.com early Thursday morning. "I can adapt to his style. I can fight from distance or fight on the inside. He's a fighter who comes forward, so we are going to execute our game-plan through what we've seen in his fights."

Barrera is coming off a fifth round knockout victory over Paul Parker on April 15. Prior to the Parker fight on December 17, Barrera broke down previously-unbeaten Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, knocking him out in round seven.

Barrera's boxer-puncher style and improving skill-set has been rewarded as of late. Tonight will mark the fifth consecutive time Barrera will have fought on HBO programming (The Ward fight was fought on HBO 'World Championship Boxing,' while the other three fights were on HBO Latino).

"The more motivation I have, the more I demonstrated I'm one of the best fighter in the (light heavyweight) division," said Barrera, who is promoted by Main Events. "I'm satisfied for where my career is and I'll continue to be more motivated to get bigger fights."

"I know I've been vocal on social media, but I end up doing my talking in the ring. The last couple of fights, I have worked hard to get good results. I just do my work."

The preparation for the Smith fight was more upbeat over the last couple of weeks for Barrera. His father, whom Barrera had seen in over seven years since defecting from Cuba, joined him during training camp and will be ringside at The Forum tonight.

Barrera feels blessed to see his father again.

"I was overwhelmed when I saw my father. I'm glad to see him and that he's here."

A victory tonight could put Barrera in the mix with the elite fighters at 175 pounds. Could a possible fight with Sergey Kovalev, a rematch with Andre Ward, or a showdown with Adonis Stevenson be in the works with a win?

"I just want to put on a good show. A win will get me the top fights, but I must win (tonight)."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com 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, RingTV.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing