The 29-year-old Croatian contender will challenge Martinez for the WBC interim title on Saturday night in Los Angeles. ProBox TV will stream their 12-round, 168-pound main event on its YouTube channel from Galen Center on the campus of USC.

“I’m really looking forward to this fight,” Plantic told The Ring. “It’s a big opportunity, and I’m excited about the challenge. I expect it to be an exciting fight from the opening bell right through to the end.

“He’s a good fighter. He [is] a fast counterpuncher, but that won’t stop me from beating him. I’ll stick to my game plan and keep applying pressure.”

Plantic (13-0, 10 KOs) was an experienced amateur, who estimates he had approximately 400 fights. He also represented his country at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, three years after he made his pro debut in March 2018.

“I gained a lot of experience against top-level boxers,” Plantic said. “But professional boxing is a different story, and it suits me much better. I feel more comfortable in the professional ranks.”

Since turning pro, Plantic has fought in Croatia, Germany, England and Albania. Those experiences, combined with fighting all over the world in the unpaid ranks, has put him in a good position to head to America and fight on a bigger stage.

“Everything has been great so far, and everything is going as it should,” Plantic said. “The only thing I can say is that I can’t wait to step into the ring with Martinez.”

While Croatia isn’t a country known for boxing, more for soccer, where its players passionately represent their country on the global stage. That’s something Plantic is also keen to do.

“We’re a small country, and not many people know about us, but we have world-class athletes,” Plantic explained. “I fell in love with boxing when I was 10 years old, after my older brother took me to my first training session. Thanks to him, I’m where I am today.”

Martinez (20-0-1, 16 KOs), who is rated No. 4 by The Ring at 168 pounds, was a decorated amateur who represented Guatemala on the world stage. He turned professional with a second-round stoppage over faded former two-weight titleholder Ricardo Mayorga in April 2019.

The 30-year-old Martinez is most known for his 10-round split draw with WBC champ Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) on the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford undercard 11 months ago at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Crawford’s stablemate is coming off a lopsided 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over Immanuwel Aleem (22-5-3, 14 KOs) on March 21 in San Bernardino, California.

Plantic’s promoter, Ahmet Oner, is known to push for his fighters. The experienced former boxer has done that for Plantic and that has helped open the door for this opportunity against Martinez, a 7-1 favorite according to DraftKings.

“In America they will count Luka as an underdog, but in my opinion, he’s not a real underdog – we trust the WBC judges,” Oner said. “I think Luka will deliver; I expect a lot. Lester Martinez did a good fight with Christian Mbilli. Mbilli is now a very strong guy. When Luka beat [Mbilli as an amateur], it was 12 years ago. I don’t think that counts a lot, but it shows Luka is on a level to compete with good guys. I believe Luka will make Lester Martinez survive hard. Luka has a real chance to win this fight.”