He was a heavy enough underdog that you might've gotten better odds on an Enron comeback and after six rounds he was trailing badly on all three scorecards. A right that from one of boxing's top prospects was about to crash flush on his chin like a Mack truck running into the back of a Beetle.

In the Foxwoods Resort ring, Jesse Feliciano was in trouble.

Or, to put it another way, Jesse Feliciano was right where he wanted to be.

"I love that underdog storyline," Feliciano admits. "That's always been me. From the time I first saw Rocky, I knew that was how I wanted to fight, to never give up to any man but God."

When the punch arrived square on Feliciano's jaw, the blow that, for all appearances was going to bring down the house on a nationally televised ESPN fight, the underdog absorbed it with all the shock of downing a cup of coffee.

A weak cup.

Two rounds and three eighth-round knockdowns later, Feliciano stood over Delvin Rodriguez, arms raised in celebration of the come-from-behind TKO stoppage. The underdog still trailed by at least five points on every scorecard.

"That's my favorite fight," says Feliciano of the February, 2007 bout, savoring the memory like it was a bite off a $100 steak. "I remember the place was sold out, I was a huge underdog and the crowd was talking all sorts of mess. I tried not to let it get to me, but it did at first. But in the sixth round, I just turned it all around. I came back, the underdog."

To the Los Angeles born fighter, the underdog persona is as ingrained in his identity as his name or social security number. So as he meets Andrey Tsurkan (25-3, 16 KOs) tonight on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, Feliciano (15-6-3, 9 KOs) is, once again, right where he wants to be.

"Better days are coming, starting with [Tsurkan]," Feliciano says. "It starts [Friday night]. It's going to be an early Thanksgiving. You're going to see an Arturo Gatti-Mickey Ward war and showdown for the new generation."

But just because Feliciano sounds comfortable in a mid-sized network promotion, don't think he isn't already planning a return to boxing's primetime.

In November, Feliciano fought for the IBF welterweight title against champion Kermit Cintron. Unsurprisingly an underdog, Feliciano absorbed the heavy handed then-champ's best blows before bowing out to a 10th round stoppage, still on his feet.

Cintron left the ring still champion, but Feliciano was the night's biggest winner.

And Feliciano left with a taste for the big time.

"I really enjoyed doing the major fight promotion and really look forward to getting that opportunity again," Felicianio says, "I've been living the hard life and I'm looking forward to making it a little easier. I think I deserve the opportunity to prove myself again."

But to get back in the mix of the deep welterweight division, Feliciano must solve Tsurkan, a fighter he agreed to meet on short notice.

"There's nothing about him that worries me," Feliciano says. "I'm a warrior. I'm not scared of anyone. He's just another man. What can he do to me?"

If he wins, Feliciano's resume plus his crowd-pleasing, ticket-selling fighting style will move him back to the top of the wish lists for titlists.

And should Tsurkan, who's fresh off a disputed loss to undefeated Yuri Foreman, land a few heavy blows and get Feliciano in trouble deep in the fight, that's fine with Feliciano as well.

After all, that's exactly where he wants to be.

Always the underdog.