By here, Booker referred to his 12-round bout with Fundora, who will defend his WBC and WBO 154-pound titles against the WBO’s No. 5 contender on Saturday. It is literally and figuratively the tallest order of Booker’s nine-year professional career, as Fundora, who answers to “The Towering Inferno,” stands 6-foot-6, highly unusual for the super welterweight division.

“It sounds crazy, man,” Booker said, “every time I say that I’m about to fight for two world titles.”

Crazy because less than three years ago, Austin “Ammo” Williams, another southpaw who was unbeaten at that time, stopped Booker in the first round of what, to that point, was Booker’s most meaningful fight as a pro. Williams’ left hand rocked Booker with 1:15 to go in the opening stanza and he never recovered. A barrage of punches later left Booker seated on one of the ropes.

Referee Charlie Fitch began to count, but then halted the action only 2:25 into their 10-round fight in April 2022 at Madison Square Garden because a buzzed Booker couldn’t stand up straight.

“It wasn’t so much what went wrong the night of the fight,” Booker recalled. “It was more just leading up to it. I had a lot of things going on. I never make excuses, so I don’t want to start now.”

The 33-year-old contender doesn’t make excuses for the criminal activity that nearly ruined his life, either.

He instead praises the judge who handled his case, Gary White, for affording him the second shot he desperately needed. White wasn’t just a district court judge — he was also an amateur boxing judge.

The Harvard-educated White had watched Booker compete in the New England Golden Gloves and realized he was committed to turning his life around. Just as important, Booker wanted to mentor kids in his hometown, so at least some Stamford adolescents didn’t succumb to the same temptations that set Booker back.

White followed Booker’s career, which included over 100 amateur matches from ages 19-24, including a national Golden Gloves title in 2015. White also attended several of Booker’s pro bouts.

The understanding judge’s role in Booker’s first comeback has weighed on the skillful southpaw’s mind during the buildup toward a main event this weekend that Amazon Prime Video will stream from Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT).

“When he came to one of my fights,” Booker said, “I just remember saying to him, ‘Man, I gotta thank you for giving me a second chance.’ I was so happy that he was there to see that. I was proud to say I was glad he gave me a second chance, and look what I did with it.”

Beyond boxing, Booker works as a personal trainer at Revolution Training in Stamford, where he typically prepares for his fights. He also gladly serves as a big brother of sorts to kids who seek guidance there after school and trains several amateur boxers.

The second half of Booker’s camp for the Fundora fight was spent at DLX Boxing in Las Vegas, where better sparring options were available. It is almost impossible, as one might imagine, to replicate the rangy Fundora, thus Booker brought in heavier opponents who at least came close to Fundora’s stature.

Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) will end a long layoff that has lasted almost one full year. The Coachella, California native hasn’t boxed since he edged then-unbeaten Australian Tim Tszyu in a 12-round bloodbath last March 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The gangly Fundora was more cautious versus Tszyu, whose nasty gash near the middle of his hairline blurred his vision for 10 rounds, because Brian Mendoza had violently knocked Fundora out in his prior appearance in April 2023. Fundora led Mendoza comfortably on all three scorecards when Mendoza drilled him with a three-punch combination that left Fundora flat on his back and out in the seventh round of their bout in Carson, California.

BetMGM still lists Fundora as a 10-to-1 favorite because he has beaten a much higher level of opposition than Booker. The decided underdog understands his role in this promotion, but it has helped him relax because Booker feels like all of the pressure is on Fundora.

If Fundora wins, his options likely will be higher-profile fights against WBC interim champ Vergil Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs), WBC No. 1 contender Sergii Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) or Xander Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs), who is ranked No. 1 by the WBO and No. 2 by the WBC. Booker loves that no one outside of his camp has said much about his potential opponents if he were to pull off an upset.

“[Winning] would almost be like a movie ending, honestly,” Booker said, “where you have these struggles and this character who goes through so much turmoil, and just keeps showing that they won’t give up and ultimately reached the goal. I’m living the real-life ‘Rocky’ moment right now. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win this fight.”

With very little time left until he steps into the ring for the most important bout of his career, Booker hopes his detractors do more to realize he is more than some prop in Premier Boxing Champions’ showcase of Fundora.

“People hearing and understanding what I went through,” Booker said, “maybe they’ll take back some of what they said,” Booker said. “Because how do you become somebody if you never fight anybody? So if we’re going to just only let the popular guys fight each other, well, how did they become popular? How would Fundora become champion if Tim Tszyu never gave him a chance? How would Floyd Mayweather become Floyd Mayweather if [Oscar] De La Hoya never gave him the chance?

“I could go on and on. How would [Muhammad] Ali become Ali if Sonny Liston didn’t give him a chance? Right? You never become somebody until you beat somebody. And you can only do that if somebody gives you the opportunity. … Hopefully people will change their mind about writing people off so easy and so fast, before they give a guy a chance, see what a person is all about.”

If they don’t believe Booker, they can ask Gary White.