Gabriel Maestre doesn’t think Travon Marshall is ready for the step up in opposition that the undefeated welterweight prospect will take Saturday night.

Maestre (5-0-1, 4 KOs) has fewer professional fights than Marshall (8-0, 7 KOs), but the two-time Olympian has a lot of amateur experience and has boxed better pros. The Venezuelan-born, Colombia-based veteran stopped former welterweight champ Devon Alexander after the third round of his last fight, a scheduled 10-rounder April 8 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

“Travon Marshall hasn’t fought someone as experienced and as sharp as I am,” Maestre told krikya360.com. “He’s a young, capable, hungry fighter, but I have two Olympic cycles under my belt, and as a pro I’ve shown my capabilities and my skills. So, I know that I’m gonna be the one coming out on top Saturday night.”

Marshall, 22, demolished Justin DeLoach in his last fight. The hard-hitting Marshall dropped De Loach in the third round, when he was declared the winner by knockout once De Loach got to his feet and was declared unfit to continue March 4 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

Despite that impressive performance, the 37-year-old Maestre didn’t expect the call he received to meet Marshall in a 10-round fight Showtime will televise from MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

“It did surprise me,” Maestre said, “because I have a lot of experience and he may be biting off more than he can chew, because I think that me, personally, I can hang with the big boys at 147. So, let’s see if he’s up to the challenge.”

Marshall, from nearby Capitol Heights, Maryland, will box before his hometown fans, whom Maestre promised to disappoint.

“I need to win in order to get what I want,” Maestre said. “We’re focused on getting the win and then getting an eliminator or a world title fight later this year or early next year.”

Maestre is 1-0-1 since his infamous 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over Mykal Fox (22-4, 5 KOs) in August 2021 at The Armory in Minneapolis. Fox obviously outboxed Maestre that night, yet Maestre still won their 12-round fight for the WBA interim welterweight title on the scorecards of judges John Mariano (115-112), Gloria Martinez Rizzo (117-110) and David Singh (114-113).

The WBA subsequently suspended Rizzo, whose racist Tweets were uncovered following her suspect scoring of the Maestre-Fox fight. The WBA also stripped Maestre of its WBA interim championship and petitioned the Minnesota Office of Combat Sports to change the result of their nationally televised bout to a no-contest.

“I think that people have already gotten past it,” Maestre said. “The fight against Fox was controversial, but since then I’ve gone to Canada and fought in enemy territory, got a draw against [Taras Shelestyuk]. And then I fought Devon Alexander, so now it’s just a matter of showing the fans that Gabriel Maestre is here to stay.”

Marshall, who has won six straight bouts by knockout, is listed by Caesars Sportsbook as a 7-1 favorite versus Maestre.

Showtime will air Marshall-Maestre as the opener of a three-bout broadcast scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. EDT. Former IBF bantamweight champ Emmanuel Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KOs, 1 NC) will attempt to win back that unclaimed championship in the 12-round main event, in which the Puerto Rican contender will encounter Nicaragua’s Melvin Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs).

Undefeated junior welterweight contender Gary Antuanne Russell (16-0, 16 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Maryland, and St. Louis’ Kent Cruz (16-0-3, 10 KOs) are set to square off in Showtime’s 10-round co-feature.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.