The ease at which he surgically took apart Paulinus Ndjolonimu (20-2, 18 KOs) in front of a raucous home crowd at the Sydbank Arena in Kolding, Denmark, reinforced the belief he's ready for sterner challenges now.

Bank (19-0, 11 KOs) didn't lose a minute, let alone a round before flooring the Namibian with a body shot he simply couldn't recover from. Curled up in the corner, the 38-year-old failed to beat referee Ali Oubaali's count and a man 13 years his junior justified the hype that has him currently ranked No. 9 at super middleweight by The Ring.

"He has hands like a hammer, he can punch," Bank said in his post-fight interview before doubling down on what he wants next.

"Everybody knows, I'm ready for the top. Give me the chance for a title fight. I'm ready."

This might have been Ndjolonimu's last chance at a big fight with life-changing circumstances, but Bank set about him with an urgency and punch variety that showed they were boxing at two different levels on the night.

Canada-based French puncher Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) currently holds the WBC strap after being elevated from interim champion in January, though it's unclear whether he'll make his first defense before former undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez's return in Saudi Arabia on September 12.