He left with an opportunity to spar against Shakur Stevenson and planted the seeds for earning a chance on a Matchroom Boxing card. Those events helped lead to the Sanford, Florida, native headlining Matchroom’s inaugural “Project Series” card against Christian Barreto in a 10-round lightweight bout DAZN will stream Friday night from Caribe Royale in nearby Orlando.

“I’ve been wanting to be main event for years now,” Marksman told The Ring. “Now it’s a dream come true. I gotta really make sure I step up to the plate and shine like I know I can shine. As far as Friday, I’m ready. I’m ready to do the beat-ups, man. I’ve been training for a long time. I’ve been waiting for this moment, and it’s finally here.”

Matchroom’s aforementioned series will feature upcoming prospects looking to take the next steps in their careers.

During the course of fight week before Bravo’s spectacular knockout of Campa, Marksman, 25, crossed paths with Matchroom Boxing CEO Eddie Hearn. The undefeated lightweight prospect told Hearn that one day they’d be doing business together.

That same week, Marksman’s father, Angus Marksman, was told that Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs), ranked No. 3 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, needed sparring as he made final preparations for his fight with Teofimo Lopez on January 31 at Madison Square Garden. The same day they returned home to Sanford following Bravo’s second-round knockout of Campa, they were on their way to Las Vegas.

Stevenson, 29, got Corey a one-way ticket. If he wasn’t up to par, Marksman (13-0-1, 9 KOs) would have headed back home as quickly as he got to Las Vegas. Corey stayed in Las Vegas for two weeks as Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) put the final touches on training camp.

The slick southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, scored a dominant unanimous-decision victory over Lopez (23-2, 13 KOs) to win The Ring and WBO 140-pound titles and become a four-division world champion.

“I was his last sparring [partner] before he went out there with Teofimo,” Corey said. “That says a lot.”

Corey’s time in Las Vegas included him crossing paths with numerous former world champions, including 2021 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Andre Ward and Raymond Ford. Being in that environment for that long affirmed to Corey that he belonged.

Angus has noticed the difference in his son since he returned from Las Vegas.

“I think now he understands those guys train at a different level of sharpness [and a] different level of focus,” Angus told The Ring. “So being around there for those two weeks, I think it rubbed off on him well.”

How everything came together also marked another instance when Angus’ guidance paid dividends for Corey.

“I wouldn’t be nowhere without my pops in my career,” Corey said. “He put my first pair of gloves on me, or I put his first pair of gloves on before I even started training.”

Upon returning home, doing business with Hearn came to fruition for Corey. Marksman, who is ranked No. 11 by the WBA in the 135-pound division, faced fellow undefeated prospect Jaycob Gomez on the undercard of Carlos Adames-Austin Williams on March 21 at Caribe Royale.

At the final press conference two days before his fight, Hearn recalled his conversation with Corey in New York. Hearn also said the winner of his bout with Gomez would earn another opportunity on a Matchroom card.

Corey beat Gomez by unanimous decision to secure another bout with Matchroom.

“Maybe words do have a lot of power,” Corey said. “I didn’t expect none of that.”

That has culminated in him facing another undefeated prospect in Puerto Rico’s Barreto (15-0, 9 KOs). Facing Barreto just 45 minutes away from his hometown, and at the same venue where he has fought nine times, only adds to the most significant bout of Corey’s career.

“It just makes it that much more special,” Corey said. “It means I ain’t gotta go nowhere. I gotta have my home team with me, and the support is gonna be immaculate. I know when I step out there and finally show my face, everybody’s gonna go crazy. I just gotta perform like I know I can perform.”