Eight years ago, Edner Cherry got his first crack at a boxing world championship.
On Saturday, October 3, the man they call "Cherry Bomb" will have another chance when he steps into the ring against undefeated Jose Pedraza.
The fight will be an undercard for the Adrien Broner/Khabib Allakhverdiev bout in Cincinnati that will be broadcast on Showtime from U.S. Bank Arena.
"Jose Pedraza is in the way of my money, and the world title," Cherry said. "That's how I feed my family. I don't care what he does on his side, but I know what I have to do on my side."
The 26-0 Pedraza, who's seen as Puerto Rico's next rising star, will defend his IBF Super Featherweight World Title for the first time.
The man nicknamed "The Sniper" is a perfect 20-0 with 12 knockouts, but Cherry isn't intimidated.
"This is not my first time facing a 20-0 guy- undefeated guy," Cherry said. "The guy that I faced undefeated- his '0' had to go! And it did."
Cherry, who's 33, has won his last six bouts to up his career pro record to 34-6 with 19 knockouts.
He fought one of boxing's more well-known current fighters, Timothy Bradley, for the Light Welterweight World Title in 2008, losing by decision.
Cherry brought new life to his career two years ago when he started training at the fabled "St. Pete Boxing Club", where he trains under the highly regarded Dan Birmingham, who has trained a number of world champs.
"To be here in one of the gyms where all the champions come from- Jeff Lacy, Winky Wright, Keith Thurman- I want to be one of them that comes out of this guym to be a champion of the world," Cherry said.
"Cherry Bomb" got his nickname as a 14-year-old amateur in Wauchula, where he'd swing hard at opponents at the end of sparring sessions.
"People have seen the 'Cherry Bomb'- and people think it is in the right hand," Cherry said. "I hit hard with both hands."