By Francisco Salazar

There is nothing like having a comfort zone. For welterweight Konstantin Ponomarev, that comfort zone was fighting in front of familiar faces in his home country of Russia.

But fighting for bigger paydays and world title belts was too much for Ponomarev to ignore.

So he took the plunge, traveled to the United States, hooked up with one of boxing's top trainers and has not looked back.

Ponomarev may have a way's to go before he fights for a world title, but fighting in the United States and becoming well-known to boxing fans has been a success thus far.

Ponomarev will fight Ramses Agaton tonight inside the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nev. The eight round bout will be part of the non-televised portion of the Top Rank card, although highlights could be shown on truTV, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.

Although he has fought 28 times as a pro, Ponomarev is only 23 years of age. He made his pro debut at the age of 17 in April of 2010.

Ponomarev (28-0, 13 KOs) scored the biggest win of his pro career in his last bout on May 1, defeating Mikael Zewski in a battle of unbeaten welterweight prospects.

"The win over Zewski was overwhelming and humbling at the same time," Ponomarev told Boxingscene.com through an interpreter over the phone earlier this week. It was the biggest win of my career in an important fight. The fight took place at the right place and at the right time."

Ponomarev has worked with trainer Abel Sanchez in Big Bear Lake, Calif. for about a year now. Sanchez has trained numerous world champions, but is currently best known for training unbeaten Gennady Golovkin.

Sanchez has been impressed with the progress Ponomarev has made since working with him.

"He's a fine, exceptional talent. He is physically and mentally strong who can eventually become an elite fighter. He wants to get better. (Konstantin) is one of the few fighters who sees someone like Gennady in the gym and works as hard as him to get better."

Ponomarev agrees.

"Having Golovkin is a huge motivator. There are things in and out of the gym that fighters should always do. Even when Abel is not here (because he is working someone's corner), you still feel his presence. Preparing for a fight does not end in a gym. It continues in the kitchen, in your room, etc. It is a huge process."

Ponomarev's accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Ponomarev is ranked in the top 10 by two of the major governing bodies (number seven by the WBC and number eight by the IBF).

While there were discussions of a possible fight against Sadam Ali, Ponomarev is still holding out hope he can land a fight against a top contender.

"I don't need to call anyone out though. I still have a lot to learn and when I've earned the right to call people out, I will. I haven't earned that right yet."

"I believe in myself and I'm constantly pushing myself to get better. Because I'm a disciplined fighter who controls my emotions, I can continue being that cold-hearted executioner."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing