By Ryan Maquiñana

Is the third time the charm?  Ava Knight sure hopes so after two unsuccessful bids at a women’s world championship belt.

The difference?  This time, the gifted boxer-puncher from Chico, Calif., has landed in Colima, Mexico, after an abbreviated training camp in San Francisco with trainer Ben Bautista, looking forward to a title shot much closer to her natural weight of 108 pounds.

After fruitless challenges against female pound-for-pound talents Ana Maria Torres (WBC junior bantamweight) two years ago and Kaliesha West (WBO bantamweight) in June, Knight meets reigning IBF flyweight champion Arely Mucino (14-0-1, 8 KOs) this Saturday.

Knight (6-1, 3 KOs) spoke to BoxingScene before the biggest fight of her life.

ON GETTING THE TITLE SHOT AGAINST MUCINO:

I only heard the news three weeks ago.  I’m not exactly sure if I’m a late replacement, but they asked me, and I said yes.

ON HER ABBREVIATED, TUMULTUOUS TRAINING CAMP:

“After the Kaliesha [West] fight, I had to move to Chico about a month after, so I didn’t get to train, and boxing really isn’t in the picture there.  I was in shape, but not really good boxing shape.  About a month ago, I had another fight lined up, but when it fell through and this one came up, I went straight to the Bay Area to work with Ben [Bautista] for the last three weeks.  But I’m not doing this fight for the money.”

ON FIGHTING CLOSER TO HER NATURAL WEIGHT:

“I’m really excited to be fighting at 112, because this is the weight class I’ve always wanted to compete in.  Fighting bigger girls all the time can take a toll, and I’m walking around at 114.  That’s a big advantage for someone walking around at 125 cutting down to 118.”

ON MATCHING UP WITH MUCINO:

“She’s a big star in Mexico.  I’ve seen her on YouTube, and she’s a rusher.  She likes to come in and throw bombs and try to take out her opponents real quick, and that could work to my advantage for me because I came up in the gym with fighters like that.  After fighting Ana Maria Torres, I don’t see anyone better than that coming into the ring with me from Mexico, so I’m not too worried about it.”

ON THE CHALLENGES OF FIGHTING A MEXICAN IN MEXICO:

“The thing I learned from my last time in Mexico to challenge Ana Maria Torres is that people out there love their fighters, and they’ll do anything to help them win.  I went out there a week early for my fight last time and I got sick with the food.  We had a hard time with getting places and talking to people.  This time, I’m more prepared in that I know I’m not getting any help there most likely.

“I’m bringing my own food and my own water there now.   Look, they didn’t even give me a cutman for my title fight.  Last time it broke me down and got to my head.  By the time I got to the fight, I didn’t even want to be there anymore, but this time, no matter what they do, my mind’s right, and I’m here to win.”

ON WHETHER OR NOT KNIGHT WAS CONCERNED ABOUT GETTING FAIR TREATMENT FROM THE JUDGES:

“If I was planning to go 10 rounds, I would say yeah…”

ON WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN FOR KNIGHT:

“The fight means a lot to me more in respect to others.  Every person I’ve stepped in the ring with has been a good fighter, and I feel like with this victory, people will know more about me.   I went so many years on a hard road because people didn’t want to fight me while others had it easier than me, and winning this title will show that all my hard work’s paid off.”

Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel.  E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.