ONTARIO, California – Armando Resendiz’s readiness for “a war” with Jarrett Hurd remains to be seen.

The 24-year-old Mexican middleweight is just two fights removed from a surprising unanimous-decision defeat to Marcos Hernandez. Resendiz suffered a second-round knockdown against Hernandez, who beat him on all three scorecards (97-92, 96-93, 96-93) in their 10-rounder in September 2021 at The Armory in Minneapolis.

Resendiz nevertheless insisted Thursday that he is prepared for a brutal battle with Hurd in the co-feature of Showtime’s three-bout broadcast Saturday night from Toyota Arena (9 p.m. ET).

“Look, I’m Mexican. So, I’m ready for a war,” Resdeniz stated during a press conference at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Ontario Airport. “That’s in my blood. So, bring it on. I’m gonna be ready for whatever comes my way on Saturday night.”

A regretful Resendiz (13-1, 9 KOs) admitted in a subsequent interview with BoxingScene.com that he wasn’t exactly ready when he faced Hernandez (15-6-2, 3 KOs).

“I did learn a lot,” Resendiz said when asked about his lone loss. “I learned not to underestimate any opponent. That’s a little bit of what happened. My preparation wasn’t a hundred percent, but I’m not gonna blame it only on that. That’s in the past. I’m ready for this fight.”

Following his loss to Hernandez, Resendiz hired respected Southern California trainer Manny Robles as his chief second. His fight with Hurd will be their second fight together.

Hurd (24-2, 16 KOs), a former IBF/IBO/WBA 154-pound champion from Accokeek, Maryland, will fight for the first time since Luis Arias (20-3-1, 9 KOs) upset him by split decision in their 10-rounder on the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul undercard in June 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Hurd entered the ring as an 8-1 favorite against Arias.

“It may affect him, but it might not,” Resendiz said of Hurd’s long layoff, which has lasted almost 21 months. “I’m gonna be ready for whatever he brings to the table. … My key to victory is to listen to my trainer, listen to my corner, and God willing, I’ll come out victorious.”

Most handicappers have made Hurd a 5-1 favorite versus Resendiz.

Showtime will air the 10-round, 162-pound bout between Hurd and Resendiz just before Brandon Figueroa (23-1-1, 18 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, and the Philippines’ Mark Magsayo (24-1, 16 KOs) fight for the WBC interim featherweight title in the 12-round main event. This three-bout broadcast will begin with a 10-round, 160-pound fight in which Elijah Garcia (13-0, 11 KOs), a 19-year-old southpaw from Wittmann, Arizona, will square off against Uruguayan middleweight contender Amilcar Vidal (16-0, 12 KOs).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.