By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Donovan George’s fight Friday night against Seanie Monaghan is about the wait, not the weight.

The super middleweight from Chicago will box as a full-fledged light heavyweight for the first time in his 11-year pro career. That fact isn’t weighing on George’s mind nearly as much as how he wants to win their nationally televised fight impressively following nearly a 14-month layoff, the consequence of a six-month suspension for failing a post-fight drug test (painkiller) in August 2014 and a subsequent seventh surgery on his right hand.

The 10-rounder between Monaghan (25-0, 16 KOs), of Long Beach, N.Y., and George (25-4-2, 22 KOs, 1 NC) will be broadcast from Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn as the main event of a TruTV doubleheader (10 p.m. ET).

“I think I’m definitely the highest-caliber fighter he has fought,” George told krikya360.com. “He seems like a super-professional guy. He probably trained very good for this fight, but I feel I have the edge in experience. Even though I’m younger, I’ve been in with the best fighters in the world. I’ve been in with the best 175-pounder in the world, 12 rounds. I’ve fought all those guys. For me, it’s just another Friday night. I’m not concerned with his record or his fans. They can’t fight for him. There’s a lot of pressure on him right now, being 25-0, [near] his hometown. For me, there’s no pressure at all. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

The 30-year-old George is the best opponent of the popular, well-protected Monaghan’s five-year pro career. Three of George’s four losses have come against WBC light heavyweight champ Adonis Stevenson (27-1, 22 KOs), super middleweight contender Edwin Rodriguez (27-1, 18 KOs) and middleweight contender Caleb Truax (25-2-2, 15 KOs).

“I think it’s going to weigh in the back of his mind,” George said. “He has never been in with an elite fighter. He doesn’t know. As fighters, we question ourselves all the time. He’s got to be thinking, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I’m ready for this level.’ He’s going to have doubts about what’s going to happen when I hit him on the chin with that right hand. I know that I can take a punch from the strongest light heavyweight in the world. I know what I’m capable of. I have no doubts. I think that’s a huge advantage.”

Monaghan, 34, is a natural light heavyweight and figures to out-weigh George when the opening bell rings, perhaps by a significant amount. George isn’t overly concerned about a potential weight disadvantage, though.

“The weight wasn’t really a big deal,” George said. “It was an opportunity for me more than anything. Fighting at 175, it just means I could eat the day of the weigh-in. I feel really strong. I feel great. It just makes my life easier. So I’m not really concerned about him being bigger or anything like that. When push comes to shove, I’m going to hit him and he’s going to hit me. It really doesn’t matter how big he is.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.