It’s been a long time since Jermall Charlo has been spotted inside the ring.

Trapped in a whirlwind of personal issues and mental fog, Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) finally believes he's in the right place to make his return. This Saturday night, at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Charlo will end a 30-month layoff when he takes on Jose Benavidez Jr.

On paper, Benavidez is in over his head. The 31-year-old started his career at 140 pounds, while his showdown against Charlo will take place a few pounds above the middleweight limit. Still, even with the advantage in size, strength, and power, Charlo recently admitted that he has a ton of butterflies floating around in his stomach at the moment.

“I’m a little anxious,” said Charlo to a group of reporters. “A little nervous, see how I’m gonna do.”

Prior to his layoff, Charlo was known as one of the best fighters in the world. At 154 pounds, he routinely left his opponents staring up at the ceiling. Before he made the move six pounds north, he violently stopped Julian Williams to defend his IBF title one final time.

As a middleweight, it was much of the same. Wins over Mat Korobov and Sergiy Derevyanchenko were career-defining. But just when he was on top of his game with the WBC title draped over his shoulders, he immediately went to the sidelines.

With only a few days remaining before he saunters through the ring with his fists heavily wrapped, his mind continues to wander. For the entirety of his career, Charlo has always been certain of himself. Whether his opponents were former world champions or highly touted prospects, it never mattered, the results were always the same.

Now, it isn’t that Charlo is unsure of himself, but he’s simply hoping that the results will look familiar.

“I just want everything to be how it always been.”