Roger Gutierrez was the night’s most interested observer of a show where he was supposed to play the lead.

The reigning WBA junior lightweight titlist paid close attention to the Showtime main event which was to determine his next mandatory challenger. It turned out to be his replacement, Dominican Republic’s Hector Luis Garcia who delivered the performance of his career in overwhelming Chris Colbert over twelve rounds Saturday evening at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Garcia replaced a Covid-stricken Gutierrez on less than three weeks’ notice, though fully prepared for the moment. The unbeaten contender—who represented D.R. in the 2016 Rio Olympics—floored Colbert in round seven and dominated the bulk of the fight in taking a well-earned unanimous decision victory in their title eliminator. The fight took place with the understanding that the winner would get a straightaway title shot, which the reigning beltholder is ready to honor.

“Congratulations, Hector Garcia,” Gutierrez stated after the fight. “I will see you very soon.”

Venezuela’s Gutierrez (26-3-1, 20KOs) has held the belt since a twelve-round win over Rene Alvarado in their thrilling rematch last January in Dallas, Texas. The win avenged a prior knockout loss to the Nicaraguan, going up 2-1 in their trilogy after scoring a repeat victory last August in Frisco, Texas. One day after his first title defense, Gutierrez was immediately ordered to next face Colbert who held the WBA interim title at the time.

Talks for the fight lingered much longer than the WBA wished, only for the matter to avoid a purse bid hearing when a deal was reached between TGB Promotions—representing Colbert through Premier Boxing Champions (PBC)—and Golden Boy Promotions, Gutierrez’s promoter.

An untimely bout with Covid forced Gutierrez out of the February 26 tripleheader, though he recovered in time to already open training camp for his inevitably ordered mandatory title defense.

“Roger ‘The Kid’ Gutierrez is already working hard after having overcome Covid 19 for his 2nd defense of his World Crown,” Rafael Moron, Gutierrez’s local promoter in Venezuela revealed. “He will show that he is the best 130-pounder on the planet.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox