By Jake Donovan

With a shot at defending lightweight titlist Jorge Linares dangling overhead as the prize for the victor, Ivan Redkach and Dejan Zlaticanin prepare for the toughest fight of their respective careers.

The pair of undefeated lightweight contenders square off in a scheduled 12-round title eliminator Saturday evening at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The bout will air live on SHO Extreme (Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. local time).

Redkach (18-0, 14KOs) has made the transition from prospect to rising contender beginning with his SHOWTIME-televised debut last January. A hard-fought 10-round win over Tony Luis showed his mettle even if slightly stripping away the aura of invincibility he carried while on the rise.

Wins over Sergey Gulyakevich and Yakabu Amidu have since graced his resume as the Ukrainian southpaw—who lives and trains out of Los Angeles—moves towards the title stage.

Zlaticanin (20-0, 13KOs) is perhaps the division's best-kept secret. The 31-year old from Montenegro flew way under the radar until scoring a major upset win over Ricky Burns on the road in Scotland last June.  

The shocking result brought to light his past accomplishments, including a decisive points win over Petr Petrov in April '13. The win preceded Petrov's eventual run in the ESPN2 Boxcino tournament, claiming top honors in the lightweight field last spring. 

A title eliminator was believed to be in Zlaticanin's future, but instead took a stay busy fight at home while watching Linares go on to claim the lightweight belt last December. 

The opportunity has now arrived for the seven-year pro. Will it prove to be worth the wait, or will Redkach prove to be well worth the early accolades. 

Read on to see how the staff at BoxingScene.com believes the action will go down. 

BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS: IVAN REDKACH vs. DEJAN ZLATICANIN

Jake Donovan (Zlaticanin Dec.): Possibly the best matchup of this loaded fight weekend. No shame for whomever loses this fight, the type that proves valuable experience both ways. That said, I like the more battle-tested Zlaticanin to overcome a size and power disadvantage, finding a way to sneak a close win. 

Michael Gibbons (Redkach SD): The bigger fighter gets the edge in a great lightweight matchup.

Takahiro Onaga (Redkach SD): This best fight of weekend on paper. Very close. I like Redkach win but controversial.

Per Ake Persson (Redkach Dec.): Redkach has moved at higher level and that will make a big difference in this one. Zlaticanin is pretty good but the record is compiled in the safe enviroment of home.

Cliff Rold (Zletcanini Dec.): This is a pick 'em on paper but Zletcanin has shown upset chops and will impress.

Victor Salazar (Redkach Dec.): This could rival Walters-Marriaga for the best fight of the weekend. Zlaticanin will push Redkach to the late rounds and we’ll see exactly who Redkach is. This fight can go either way but I’m going to side with the favorite Redkach eking out a tough hard fought decision.

Alexey Sukachev (Zlaticanin SD): The best fight of the night. Redkach has power but he also has holes in his defense and he was slightly exposed against Tony Luis. He is to reckless. Zlaticanin isn't predictable as Redkach. He is definitely capable of the upset tough. I ten to think that he will survive a rocky start to outbox Redkach from the distance just barely to get a split.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox