With the NHL being on break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, home to the Anaheim Ducks, was available Saturday for Golden Boy Promotions to stage a show in Southern California.

Throughout the years, Oscar De La Hoya’s company has brought many events to the arena, headlined with fights featuring the likes of Ryan Garcia and Jaime Munguia over the last five years, and even Canelo Alvarez, who won his first world title in the arena in 2011.

Served with the golden opportunity to headline a Valentine's Day weekend show is junior welterweight contender Oscar Duarte, a longtime Golden Boy promotional staple.

Duarte was initially set to face two-time 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis, but on February 6, it was announced that Prograis had to withdraw from the fight due to a shoulder injury.

Instead of pulling the plug on the show after the more marketable Prograis pulled out, Golden Boy maneuvered to moved forward to make sure the date was still headlined by Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs), who will now take on Miguel Madueno (31-3-0, 28 KOs) in a matchup between hard-hitting Mexicans.

“I always had the dream of being a main event fighter as the A-side in the United States and I'm extremely motivated for this one,” Duarte said Wednesday during a media workout. “I was getting ready for a lefty in Prograis. In Madueno, I know he's a fighter who is going to come forward. I feel that it's going to be a great fight.”

Madueno enters the bout having lost two of his last three fights. In his most recent outing in July, he suffered a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Keyshawn Davis.

Duarte, on the other hand, has bounced back with consecutive wins since his knockout loss to Ryan Garcia in December 2023. Duarte demolished Joseph Diaz Jr. in April and secured a unanimous decision victory over Botirzhon Akhmedov in November.

Neither Duarte or Madueno are ranked in The Ring’s top 10 at 140 pounds, but with another win, Duarte can put the stacked division on further notice.

“I think it’s a very important fight,” said Duarte. The fight I have in front of me is the best fight of my life. I trained very hard and I think it’s going to be an amazing fight. I think that he is a very experienced fighter and he likes to come forward. It’s going to be a toe-to-toe fight. I prepared very hard for this fight with Robert Garcia. I felt very good during preparation so I feel confident that I will win this fight."