The last time Mendoza fought a favored former champion on short notice, nine days to be exact, he knocked out Jeison Rosario in the fifth round of their November 2022 bout in Minneapolis. That unforeseen win earned Mendoza a shot at Sebastian Fundora’s WBC interim junior middleweight title in his following fight, which he won by seventh-round knockout.

Upsetting Fundora in April 2023 changed Mendoza’s life, but the Albuquerque, New Mexico native lost back-to-back 12-round unanimous decisions to former WBO junior middleweight champ Tim Tszyu and Ukrainian contender Serhii Bohachuk in his next two outings.

Mendoza (23-4, 17 KOs) fought only once since Bohachuk beat him in March 2024 – a fourth-round technical knockout of journeyman Jesus Rojas (12-11-2, 10 KOs) last July 4 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He then waited patiently, hoping he’d get a call like the one he received to fight Tellez (11-1, 8 KOs) in the co-feature on the Fundora-Keith Thurman pay-per-view undercard at MGM Grand Garden Arena (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT; $74.99).

“We’ve been training,” Mendoza told The Ring. “This was another last-minute call, but I’ve been in the gym pretty much the last two years, just trying to polish my boxing skills, working on a lotta stuff, drilling like crazy and just becoming a better boxer altogether.

“So, it’s just been fine-tuning and we’re ready, man. I know it’s short notice against a guy like this, but like I said, we’ve been doing rounds, I’ve been sparring with other guys for their camps and just staying ready, like always. I built my career off doing this.”

The 32-year-old Mendoza joked during a press conference at MGM Grand that he is the “Short Notice King,” prepared to knock off a 3-1 favorite and rejuvenate his career again. Cuba’s Tellez was upset by Germany’s Abass Baraou (17-2, 9 KOs), who sent Tellez to the canvas in the 12th round, won a unanimous decision and took Tellez’s WBA interim junior middleweight title August 23 at Caribe Royale Orlando.

Like Mendoza, Tellez needs to make a statement before Fundora and Thurman fight for Fundora’s WBC 154-pound crown. Mendoza hopes a victory over Tellez makes him an attractive opponent again for Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) if the 6-foot-6 southpaw defeats Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs, 1 NC).

“Winning this fight turns everything around,” Mendoza said. “Once again, fight my way out of obscurity, and that’s the motivation for this fight. Winning will put me right back in the rankings because he’s a former interim champion as well. So, beating someone like that, and doing it on short notice again, it just says that much more. This fight turns everything around once again, puts me right back on top and in position for another title fight or something like that.”

Mendoza expects a fan-friendly fight against the 25-year-old Tellez, who was one of their division’s ascending standouts before Baraou beat him.

“I want everybody to tune in because they’re gonna see me lay it all on the line,” Mendoza said. “I feel like my back is against the wall, just like it was in the Rosario fight, and we saw how that played out.”