A new beginning awaits Ra’eese Aleem.

The longtime junior featherweight contender will move up in weight and on a new platform. Aleem is set to face Derlyn Hernandez-Gerarldo this Friday at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Their scheduled ten-round featherweight bout will be part of an ESPN+ preliminary undercard stream, Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s Vice President of Boxing Operations, confirmed to The Ring.

“This is a showcase fight for him that will stream live on ESPN+ on the undercard of the Davis-Lemos fight,” Moretti told The Ring. “We will take a look at him and go from there.”

The main event of the Top Rank card will be a lightweight clash between Keyshawn Davis and Gustavo Lemos (ESPN+, 6:20 p.m. ET/ 3:20 p.m. PT).

The 34-year-old Aleem is eager to get back into the ring and make a name for himself.

“A win (Friday night) would mean absolutely everything to me after being off for a year and a half,” Aleem told The Ring Monday morning. “This is a must win (for me). And 126 pounds is the new division (I will be fighting in).

Aleem (20-1, 12 knockouts), who now lives and trains in Las Vegas, Nevada, has not fought since losing by split decision to Sam Goodman on June 18 of last year. The Goodman-Aleem fight was a clash of junior featherweights rated in the top 10 by The Ring.

In his previous fight in September 2022, Aleem defeated once-beaten contender Mike Plania by unanimous decision. Aleem also has victories over Eduardo Baez, Vic Pasillas, and Marcus Bates. All three opponents had a combined record of 47-2-3, prior to facing Aleem.

Aleem fought under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) for several months, also fighting on Showtime and FOX programming.

Friday is essentially an audition.

“I am still a promotional free agent. I’m not signed with anybody.”

Hernandez-Gerarldo (12-2-1, 10 KOs) stopped by former world title challenger Christopher Diaz in the second round of his last bout on July 13. The 31-year-old Dominican­—based in San Juan, Puerto Rico—had won his previous five bouts since a knockout loss to Miguel Vasquez in August 2021.