He will have his second fight of the year when he takes on Burnet Singh Bisla on the undercard of stablemate Oscar Collazo's strawweight title defense on Saturday at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) .

"I'm very happy to be back in the ring and to be a co-main event against a good opponent with a good record," Gallardo (11-0, KOs) told The Ring. "This represents the work and sacrifice we've put in these past years. It allows me to improve my development and my boxing skills. We always try to do different things and become a more versatile boxer.

"I'm ready. We’ve had an excellent training camp, and it's just a matter of days before we get down to business."

From an early age he's been aligned with Cotto Promotions through Hector Soto, who met him when he was 12.

Soto formed a strong relationship with Gallardo's father and watched his development, which saw him notching around 100 fights, notably becoming a three-time national champion and fighting at the Pan American Games.

What stood out about him was his power.

"Ever since I was little, people have told me I have a really good punch," he said. "In professional boxing, that's a huge advantage, along with technical and tactical work and physical conditioning."

The 22-year-old from Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, gets extra seasoning when he goes to Puerto Rico and shares training camp with Collazo.

"I get to train and learn from him," he said. "He helps me because he has the same drive to succeed and become a big name in boxing, and we share the same winning mentality and work ethic. That all comes down to the hard work we put in during training camp."

In recent years, there has been a shift in Mexican boxers such as Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez, Gilberto Ramirez and Jaime Munguia winning world titles in higher weight categories.

Gallardo hopes to be the next fighter from Mexico to enjoy success.

"We're here to continue representing Mexico and keep working hard so that in the not-too-distant future we can be the face of Mexican boxing," he said. "[I want] to keep growing, to keep learning from the best, and to keep adding experience to my career, and of course to reach the elite of professional boxing and become a world champion."

Bisla (14-1, 7 KOs) has been a professional since 2019 and won his first seven fights before facing touted Khalil Coe, who stopped him in seven rounds in June 2023.

The 28-year-old Canadian has since returned with seven wins which includes stopping faded former world title challenger Marco Antonio Periban (TKO 7).

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk and you can follow him on X @AnsonWainwr1ght