The junior welterweight division is one of the deepest and most talented in the sport of boxing.

Unbeaten Ernesto ‘Tito’ Mercado could soon be in that mix.

Mercado will face Hector Sarmiento Saturday night at Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The 10-round bout will stream live on the DAZN YouTube page (6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT), proceeding the Big Time Boxing USA card (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m PT), headlined by Ring super middleweight champion Claressa Shields facing WBC women’s heavyweight titleholder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.

After fighting on club shows in and around Southern California and in Tijuana, Mexico, Mercado will be fighting on the first significant card in his young career. Promoter Dmitriy Salita believes Mercado could have the potential to become a contender at 140 pounds.

“Ernesto is one of the best young junior welterweights in the world,” Salita told The Ring Tuesday. “It made sense to have him on this card because two of the other top-rated fighters in that division are on the card as well. Ernesto is getting a lot of attention and I believe he has a bright future in the sport.”

Salita was referring to junior welterweight contenders Michel Rivera and Shohjahon Ergashev, both of whom are signed to Salita Promotions. Rivera and Ergashev face Hugo Roldan and Julian Smith, respectively.

Mercado is currently a promotional free agent, but Salita stated there could be an interest in signing Mercado at a later date.

“He is not signed to me at this point,” said Salita. “As you know, we always look to sign the best talent.”

“We are rebuilding Detroit as one of the hubs for world-class professional boxing.”

The 22-year-old Mercado (15-0, 14 knockouts), who resides in Pomona, California, last fought on April 5, stopping Deiner Berrio in the fourth round. In his previous fight on February 24, Mercado knocked out Cristian Bielma in the second round. That fight took place in Tijuana.

Mercado was very active in 2023, fighting a total of five times. His most impressive win to date was a knockout victory over fringe contender Jeremia Nakathila on November 11. Other wins on his record were against former world title challenger Henry ‘Hank’ Lundy and Xolisani Ndongeni.

Sarmiento (21-2, 14 KOs), who resides in Cordoba, Argentina, has not fought since February 2020, losing by unanimous decision to Denys Berinchyk, the current WBO world lightweight titleholder. The fight took place in Brovari, Ukraine.

The 31-year-old has split his last four fights. The Mercado bout will be Sarmiento’s first fight in the United States.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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