As Da’Marrius Watson observed his Phoenix stablemate Jordan Martinez sweating through the final locker-room drills before stepping out to a vocal hometown arena crowd, Martinez turned to Watson encouragingly to tell him, “You’re next, DMO.”

Martinez that night went out and shined, fighting undefeated Mexican junior featherweight Arturo Cardenas to a tooth-and-nails draw that caught the eye of Eddie Hearn so impressively that the British promoter signed the East Phoenix kid to his powerful Matchroom Boxing stable, which includes Anthony Joshia, Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

With Hearn likely bringing three-belt junior bantamweight champion Rodriguez back to the greater Phoenix area in mid-July, there’s a chance the Martinez-Cardenas rematch will land on that card.

And if welterweight Watson, 20, can perform impressively in the main event of Fight Hard Promotions’ well-attended Tacos and Low-Lows festival in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday night, perhaps he can squeeze himself on to that show as well.

Described as a charismatic power puncher offering technical precision, Watson, 10-0 (7 KOs), trains at Fuentes Boxing Club under Allen Anderson as he heads to his first main event, versus Mexico’s Luis Gerardo Perez Salas, 8-14 (2 KOs).

“It’s so exciting,” Watson said. “Being able to showcase myself for the first time is a good feeling. It’s giving me an extra push.”

Watson is happy to share his vibrant personality with all.

“I feel that’s part of the game. This part excites me as much as the boxing does – the lead-up to the fight, the interviews,” Watson said.

Raised in Phoenix, Watson played basketball and football until he turned 14 and has since been a constant in the gym, priding himself on adjusting to and outsmarting his opponents.

Against Salas, he expects his boxing IQ to defeat his foe’s brawling style.

Calling Martinez, 23, his “big bro,” Watson said witnessing that promotion was inspirational.

“It showed me how real it is. We set these goals, and then we need to live that moment like Jordan did,” Watson said. “Him living that moment has made me more eager to achieve that goal.”

Watson told his barber of the stirring final moments before Martinez stepped to the ring in February.

Yearning to duplicate it, he enters Saturday night with the intention of finishing Salas.

“I like to fight. I like to entertain, and you know better than anyone, knockouts sell fights,” Watson said. “There’s nothing better than seeing the other guy on the canvas. I’m excited, 1,000 per cent ready.”

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.