By Francisco Salazar

Manuel 'Tino' Avila is one of many in the pool of featherweights promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.

It is almost like a round-robin tournament can be made pitting fighters like Avila, Joseph Diaz, Ronny Rios, Abraham Lopez, or Julian Ramirez.

Avila likes that idea.

"Sign me up," said Avila.

For now, Avila will focus his attention on a former fringe contender.

Avila will take on Jose Ramirez tonight in a 10 round bout at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles. The bout will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card and will air live on Estrella TV, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.

Avila (21-0, 8 KOs) has put on impressive performances over the last year or so. In August of last year, the 24-year-old Avila stopped former world title challenger Yoandris Salinas after the sixth round.

On April 1, Avila won a 10 round decision over former contender Rene Alvarado. In his last bout on July 9, Avila won a one-sided decision over Prosper Ankrah.

He faces a modest challenge tonight against Ramirez, who has faced the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko, Abner Mares, and Oscar Valdez. Ramirez has won his last three bouts, all against less-than-average opposition.

"I want to outbox him and pick him apart," Avila told Boxingscene.com earlier this week. "Then I'll go after him in the later rounds."

Not only does Avila have the fortune of fighting under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, he also has the luxury of fighting in a weight class (126 pounds) where he can face top fighters within the company.

While Joseph Diaz and Ronny Rios have faced the tougher competition and fought on the bigger stages, Avila wants to face that type of opposition.

"It's cool to be fighting for Golden Boy," said Avila, who resides in the Northern California city of Fairfield. "All those fighters live in Southern California while I'm the only fighter amongst them that's from Northern California."

"It's up to Golden Boy to make those fights. One thing is for sure is that I'm not turning down those fights."

Avila believes he is on the cusp of a big fight in early 2017. An impressive performance tonight against Ramirez will solidify where he stands in the sport.

He is ready to face the bigger challenges and fight under the brighter lights.

"I want to make a statement (tonight). I want to prove a point that I'm deserving of where I'm at. I'm a top-10 fighter and I know what I'm capable of."

"I'm Manuel, the family guy (He's expecting a child early in 2017) and 'Tino' the fighter. Outside the ring, I'm a nice guy, but inside, I want to prove I'm the best."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing