There’s a former world titleholder on Zuffa Boxing’s Easter evening card, which will launch the promotion’s UK broadcast deal with Sky Sports.

Instead of there being an obsession over the belt, the focus Sunday is on the likely quality of the fight, which propelled the lightweight scrap between Las Vegas’ own Andres Cortes, 24-0 (13 KOs), and Dominican Republic’s Eridson Garcia, 23-1 (14 KOs), to the front of the line at the Meta Apex.

Asked why he believes his fight has gained top billing, former Top Rank fighter Cortes, 29, told BoxingScene, “I’m born and raised here. I’m undefeated. I can talk a lot better than most of the guys. I love to put on a good show for the people. It makes me feel good after the night when you know the fans have seen a good performance.” 

Garcia, 31, is actually the slight -154 betting favorite on the heels of his December Riyadh Season victory, in which he knocked down Taiga Imanaga in the eighth round to gain a split decision triumph.

“I do a lot of studying. I watch a lot of boxing, big and small,” Cortes said of his first bout against a left-hander in eight years. “I’ve been on him since his name was announced. I like the matchup. Tricky guy, good fighter, but not like someone I’ve never seen.”

As Top Rank endured the absence of a broadcast deal after its union with ESPN ended in July, free agent Cortes fought for the promoter October 18 at a club show in Long Beach, California, then made the move to Zuffa.

“It’s very exciting being part of this. I’ve been hearing about Zuffa Boxing since I was in middle school, and it’s finally here. It’s something I expected would happen, and I was always looking forward to working with them,” Cortes said of the Dana White-headed promotion staging its fifth card of the year. “I’ve been a big UFC fan for a long time. You see how that’s going, so it’s a no-brainer.

“It’s the biggest opportunity. It’s local for me. They have the Performance Institute, with food, testing, training. I’ve always wished boxers had something like this.”

Victory on Sunday puts the main event winner in prime position for a Zuffa belt shot at fellow lightweight and former WBA 140lbs titleholder Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, although Cortes said he hasn’t yet been assured of that assignment being next.

With former featherweight belt holder Mark Magsayo, 28-2 (18 KOs), fighting in Sunday’s co-main event versus recent junior lightweight title challenger Feargal McCrory, 17-1 (9 KOs), Cortes-Garcia topping the Paramount+ card in the US with a captive audience of gathered families, along with the Sky Sports’ debut, may produce Zuffa’s most popular fight card yet.

“I definitely expect a lot of people to be watching,” Cortes said. “I’m Catholic, too, so I know it’s a big day. I’m excited. I usually go to church, but this time I’ve got a reason [not to go]. I believe this day was given to me.”

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.