By Mike Coppinger

Junior welterweight prospect Danny Garcia will be taking by far the sternest test of his career, when he takes on power-punching Kendall Holt on Oct. 15, as part of the HBO PPV televised undercard to the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson light heavyweight championship fight. And the Philadelphia native expects a great action fight.

“It’s going to be a good fight,” said the 23-year-old Garcia. “We both pack a lot of power. We’ve both got speed. It’s going to be whoever’s more in shape, whoever’s smarter.”

Garcia (21-0, 14 KOs) defeated Nate Campbell in April, a dominant performance in a 10-round victory. But he knows this fight will be that much more important, especially with it being his first HBO appearance.

“This means the world to me, this is what I’ve been training for my whole life,” said Garcia. “I’m happy I got the opportunity, it’s time to shine.”

Garcia, for one, thinks that Holt should be weary of his power, and not vice-versa.

“I’ve fought a lot of people with power, it takes more than power to beat me,” said Garcia. “Everybody has power, but you can’t hit what you can’t see. They don’t call me “Swift” for nothing. I’m going to make him think in there, he can throw big power shots, tire himself out, and then I’ll take him out. But if he underestimates my power, he might be the one looking at the lights.”

Mike Coppinger is a regular boxing freelancer for USA TODAY and Ring Magazine. He’s a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, the Ring Ratings Advisory Panel and the Yahoo! Sports Boxing Panel. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger.