Shawndell Winters knew the risk he was taking when it came to his previous assignment. 

Few cruiserweight prospects will dive head first into a heavyweight fight with a former major titleholder, but that is where Winters found himself when presented with the chance to face Joseph Parker earlier this year.

The bout went as expected, with Parker scoring a 5th round stoppage in their DAZN-streamed heavyweight contest this past February in Frisco, Texas. Winters offered a credibe enough account of himself to make his way back to the sports streaming platform, this time versus an opponent more his size in Croatia's Alen Babic (3-0, 3KOs).  The two collide as part of a five-fight card this Saturday live from Matchroom Boxing headquarters in Brentwood, Essex, England. 

 "The Parker fight really charged me up because I feel I’m the best and knowing what I had to overcome show me a lot about myself," Winters (13-3, 12KOs) told BoxingScene.com. "My experience fighting Parker taught me a lot."

Saturday's show—which airs on Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom and DAZN in the United States (2:00pm ET)—is anchored by the World lightweight championship rematch between Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon, and a heavyweight crossroads bout between top contenders Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin.

Of the five bouts, the pairing between Babic—a protégé of Whyte—and Winters has been the most contentious throughout fight week. It says a lot, given the tension between Taylor and Persoon, though both have remained professional.

Babic and Winters have taken it to another level, both threatening to knock the other out which is fair given the respective knockout-to-win percentages. Babic has yet to see the 3rd round of a given prizefight through 13 months in the pro ranks.

The 39-year old Winters–who hails from the greater Chicagoland area—has been the distance just twice—winning a four-round decision in December 2015 and suffering a debated eight-round decision defeat to Nikodem Jezewski last April on the road in Poland. Among his 12 wins inside the distance are upset knockouts two months apart last fall, traveling to Canada to upend previously unbeaten Oleksandr Teslenko in five rounds last September before returning to Poland where he stopped Sergiej Werwejko in seven rounds last November. 

As expected, however, he remains judged solely on his loss to the much larger Parker. It's something that Winters plans to use to his advantage.

"They made a mistake bringing me over here because it will propel me," Winters insists. "When I beat him, when I show him how to fight, he will understand. I was 3-0 with three KOs once. I'm 13-3 now. I was where he was, I understand. I'm known for bringing the smoke! He has fought three cab drivers and has never been hit by a punch.

"I appreciate Eddie Hearn [managing director of Matchroom Boxing], the most powerful man in boxing giving me a platform to showcase my talent. I definitely want to continue to fight for Matchroom after I knock this guy out."

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox