UNBEATEN super-middleweight prospect Ronald Ellis makes his Showtime debut on February 19 and the 12-0 (10) talent says he will โ€œmake a statementโ€ in the scheduled eight rounder with Jerry Odum.

A confident fighter who talks well, Ellis also says he wants an active 2016 so as to make up for a couple of injury-enforced layoffs earlier in his now five-year pro career.

Here the 2010 National Golden Gloves champion speaks about his career and his aims for the future with Boxing News.

Q: Firstly, how much do you know about your opponent Jerry Odum (13-2 with 12 KOs)?

Ronald Ellis: โ€œI know quite a bit about him,ย  but at the same time not too much. Iโ€™ve seen him fight, heโ€™s tough and he comes forward. He can fight. I have nothing bad to say about him and nothing good to say about him. Heโ€™s quite basic, I think I will outbox him.โ€

Q: Is this your first appearance on Showtime?

R.E: โ€œYeah, my first time. I feel I shouldโ€™ve been there earlier but now Iโ€™ve gotta make a statement. This will be a beautiful fight, so tune in. We are both bangers with a high knockout percentage and theyโ€™re saying it will be a war, and if I have to, Iโ€™ll go to war, but I think Iโ€™ll be too skillful for him. Iโ€™m not looking for the KO, because I can go eight-rounds easy.โ€

Q: You have quite a few KOโ€™s, 10 out of your 12 fights, but for those fans who have yet to see you fight, how would you describe your style?

R.E: โ€œOn paper, I have a lot of knockouts, but I like to box. I like to wear guys down; I have actually got a few early knockouts though, where Iโ€™ve caught the guy early. Iโ€™m a boxer/puncher. Sometimes I can be too eager for my own good. Iโ€™m working on my movement and on my slickness. Why take punches, you know.โ€

Q: How happy are you with the way your pro career has been progressing? You made you pro debut five years ago now.

R.E: โ€œIโ€™ve had a number of setbacks, injuries. But now, with this fight, I will open a lot of eyes. I will show what Iโ€™m about. I hope to have six more [fights] this year, four at least, but six would be beautiful. Iโ€™m ranked pretty high, number-13 in the U.S. I hope to be top-10 soon. As long as I stay healthy, maybe get a quick win here and there, then I might get those six fights in. I had an elbow injury in late 2012 and that kept me out quite a long time. I had chipped bones and that took eight months to heal. But now Iโ€™m doing more push-ups and pull-ups than ever before and all thatโ€™s behind me now.โ€

Q: With you working in a number of camps, you must have sparred a lot of big names?

R.E: โ€œOh, let me see (smiles). I sparred Kelly Pavlik, [Lucian] Bute, [Marcos] Maidana, Edwin Rodriguez – itโ€™s quite a list and Iโ€™ve gained great experience.โ€

Q: Will you stay at super-middleweight, you make the weight comfortably?

R.E: โ€œTo tell you the truth, Iโ€™d like to go down to 160, I think Iโ€™d be stronger there. But if you look at my career, ever since 2005, when I was an amateur, I was fighting at 168. I guess Iโ€™m stuck there. I make the weight comfortably, Iโ€™m just two or three pounds above weight now, with two weeks to go before the fight.โ€

Q: Who do you think is the best super-middleweight in the world right now?

R.E: โ€œI like James De Gale. I liked it when he beat up the Dirrell brother [Andre]. You also have a few other good champions, but I donโ€™t have anything bad to say about any of them. Iโ€™ll fight any of them when the time comes. Definitely this year Iโ€™ll go for a smaller title – why slow the process down? Iโ€™m 26 now and I feel great. Itโ€™s my time now.โ€