Danny Garcia vs. Samuel Vargas set for November 12

WBC World welterweight champion Danny Garcia, who has been heavily chastised for his lack of quality opposition over the past two years, is set to continue the trend in his next bout.

The undefeated Garcia (32-0, 18 KO’s), who has not fought since defeating Robert Guerrero in a close scrap to claim the vacant WBC welterweight title previously held by Floyd Mayweather last January, in Rod Salka fashion, will face Samuel Vargas in a 10-round non-title bout on Nov. 12 at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. The bout will serve as the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card on Spike. It is a shoo-in for Garcia before his highly anticipated title unification showdown against WBA champion Keith Thurman planned for the first quarter of 2025.

Vargas (25-2-1, 13 KO’s, 27, of Columbia, is the defending WBA-NABA welterweight champion, which is the equivalent of a minor league baseball championship. He has fought one notable contender, Errol Spence Jr., a 2012 Olympian, who brutally crushed him inside four rounds, in April 2015 on a PBC card at the Barclays Center.

How this fight will prepare Garcia for Thurman is unclear. The 27-year-old Thurman, of Clearwater, Florida, is regarded by many as one of the best, if not the best welterweight in the world. In June, he made his third successful title defense against former IBF World champion Shawn Porter in a scintillating bout. His two prior defenses were a seventh-round stoppage of former titleholder Luis Collazo, and a one-sided decision against Robert Guerrero in the debut of Premier Boxing Champions.

Garcia has not fought in Philadelphia since 2010. He fought once previously at the Liacouras Center, knocking out Enrique Colin in the second round to snag the WBC Youth Intercontinental super lightweight title.

-Ryan O’Hara/ @OharaSports