While there’s no world championship belt at stake on Saturday, the WBC Diamond welterweight title is on the line and the winner in Frisco could take a significant step towards a world title bout later this year.

A former four-division world champion, Garcia’s welterweight debut didn’t go as planned, as he lost by unanimous decision against Errol Spence Jr. in March last year.

The American moved up two weight divisions to fight Spence but found life harder than expected and suffered a first loss in 40 professional bouts.

“When I got in the ring with Errol, it just wasn’t my night,” the 32-year-old told DAZN, which will broadcast the fight on Saturday night, earlier this month.

“I felt slow. I felt sluggish. I felt weak. I felt tired. Everything that could have went wrong, went wrong. […] I know there’s a lot more that I can do. I hope that on the 29th of February, I will answer all of those questions.”

Vargas, meanwhile, arrives in Texas with a 29-2-2 record to his name.

A former two-division world champion—he held the WBA and IBO super lightweight in 2014 and the WBO welterweight two years later—the 30-year-old stopped Humberto Soto in six rounds in April last year.

The win was just the third in Vargas’ last six bouts over the last five years—he lost to Timothy Bradley and Manny Pacquiao, before draws against Adrien Broner and Thomas Dulorme—but the California native believes he is entering the best stage of his career.

“I definitely feel that I am in my prime now,” he told Matchroom Boxing. “I feel good, solid, very experienced. I’ve gained plenty of knowledge throughout the years, and I think that I am in the best time in my career because of all that experience.

“Experience is what really makes a fighter. Sometimes in a big fight, a lack of experience can affect you, but I am not in that position, I’m good and everything is good on my side.

Here’s all you need to know about Saturday.

When is Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas?

The fight is scheduled for Saturday, February 29. The undercard gets underway at 6 p.m. ET, with the main card set to begin two hours later as former WBO heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker faces Shawndell Winters.

Garcia and Vargas are expected to make their ring walks at approximately 11 p.m. ET.

Where is Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas?

The fight takes place at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

The Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility hosted the IBF welterweight world title fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Carlos Ocampo in 2018 and the WBO light heavyweight world title fight between Eleider Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev.

Garcia has previously fought in Texas nine times but this marks his first appearance at the venue, while for Vargas this will be his first professional fight in The Lone Star State.

TV coverage

A one-month subscription to DAZN costs $19.99, while an annual pass—which gives viewers access to all of the platform’s live events—comes in at $99.99.

Live stream

A live stream of the event will be available on DAZN’s website, mobile devices and game consoles.

As is the case for connected TVs, a one-month subscription to DAZN costs $19.99, while a 12-month agreement comes in at $99.99.

The price plan for Canadian viewers is slightly different, costing $20 CAD for the monthly subscription and $150 CAD for the annual plan.

Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas odds

Bookmakers expect Garcia to come out on top on Saturday. According to Oddschecker, the California native is a 1/5 favorite, while Vargas is a 19/5 underdog and the draw is at 25/1.