He can take another step in that direction Saturday, when facing Lorenzo Parra in a 10-round bout at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, on Prime Video.

Their bout headlines a Manny Pacquiao Promotions card also featuring a 10-round junior welterweight matchup between intriguing prospect Curmel Moton (8-0, 6 KOs) and Wilfredo Flores (12-6-1, 5 KOs).

“I don't think skill-wise he’s on my level, nor do I think he's faced the level of competition that I faced,” Pierce told The Ring, referring to Parra. “He's in this position for a reason, so I'm not overlooking him. I’m treating him just like he is the best of the best.”

Pierce (21-2, 17 KOs) and Parra (23-1-1, 17 KOs) were originally scheduled to meet in the main event of the promotional company's first card in the U.S. in November, but Pierce withdrew because of illness. He enters the contest on a 12-fight win streak, nine coming by stoppage.

He credited his recent focus on getting his life in order outside of the ring, enhancing his performances between the ropes.

“Boxing is already one of the most difficult sports, but having to also navigate life and deal with that as well and challenge yourself, that's really where my losses stemmed from,” Pierce said. “It was never about me losing because someone's better than me or because I wasn't skillfully able to match my competitors or anything like that. It's always been outside interference — life itself.

“I've gotten more control over it. I've honed in. I've been extremely focused on the goal, and I don't think anyone beats a mentally focused and prepared Elijah Pierce."

The southpaw from Oklahoma City is ranked second by the WBA and the WBO. The WBA's No. 1 spot is vacant after Brandon Figueroa upset Nick Ball by 12th-round stoppage to win the sanctioning body's world title on Feb. 7.

Argentina’s Mirco Cuello (16-0, 13 KOs) holds the interim belt.

Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) is still No. 1 in the WBO rankings. Assuming Figueroa falls out, Pierce could soon take the top spot and be in line to become the mandatory challenger for Mexico’s Rafael Espinoza.

Pierce said that Espinoza (28-0, 24 KOs) poses a more daunting challenge than Figueroa, although he believes the result will be the same regardless of which champion he faces.

“I do believe that Espinoza is a tougher fight,” Pierce said. “He has great conditioning, he's a tough fighter, but I believe that I come on top against anybody in my division.“

Should Pierce get a title shot and defeat either champion, his sights would then be set on newly-crowned WBC champion Bruce Carrington, who won the then-vacant title with a ninth-round knockout of Carlos Castro on Jan. 31. Pierce and Carrington shared the ring during the 2016 Olympic Trials, and Pierce touted the Brooklyn, New York, native as one of his few friends in boxing.

If a potential bout between the two presented itself, he said their friendship wouldn’t be an obstacle.

“Boxing is a one-man sport,” Pierce said. “End of the day, even if you are my friend, if we have to compete, we’ve got to compete. We can share the ring and then afterwards still be friends and still have a relationship, but ultimately, we can't let that affect the job.”

Of course, he'll have to get past Parra first. The 31-year-old Venezuelan is coming off a majority draw against Omar Trinidad in August and had won nine straight against less-than-thrilling opposition before then. Seven of the nine wins had come against opponents with one or no wins in their professional careers.

“If not an early knockout, a late knockout,” Pierce said of his prediction for Saturday. “Most of my fights, I normally go for the knockout, but with Parra, due to his style and how he fights, I definitely see a knockout.”