Eimantas Stanionis believes he has progressed beyond former amateur rival Gabriel Maestre ahead of their fight on Saturday.

The two fought in 2015 as amateurs, with Stanionis winning a narrow decision.

Both figured they might meet at the Rio Olympics a year later, but Lithuania’s Stanionis and 37-year-old Venezuelan Maestre were both eliminated and Stanionis turned over in 2017 with Maestre following two years later.

“I think he is a great fighter,” admitted 29-year-old Stanionis, ahead of their clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “We fought each other on the amateur scene in 2015 at the world championships in Qatar.

“He is a good fighter with a lot of experience in the amateur scene, but this is now the professional scene and it’s a little different.

“He only has had something like six or seven fights [Maestre is 6-0-1, 5 KOs], but he has been fast-tracked. He has not fought any low-level fighters on his fast track, and he knocked out the last prospect [Travon Marshall, 8-0] he fought despite being the underdog. So, you have to give him props for earning an opportunity at my title.”

Stanionis insists eight years is a long time and much has changed since they first shared a ring. While he rates Maestre highly, the Lithuanian says he has matured, he has developed, and he has learned plenty from sparring with some fabulous fighters.

“I’ve got much more man strength,” he went on. “When I was a kid, I was fighting at 69 kilos at 20 years old. I was a kid boxing at that weight.

“I was a late grower. I was not like other 20-year-olds from, let’s say, Dagestan, where 20-year-olds have the man strength of a 30-year-old. I wasn’t the strongest, but now I have my man strength and more experience, which has come with age.

“Bad training camps, good training camps, good fights, you always get experience and you get wiser.“

Throughout his education, Stanionis has sparred with the likes of Jose Ramirez, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter and even Puerto Rican great Miguel Cotto.