This pandemic impacted Julian Rodriguez more than most boxers.

The junior welterweight prospect had a fight canceled on four days’ notice in mid-March, when the coronavirus crisis caused operations of all sports in the United States to temporarily shut down. Two-and-a-half months later, while training for a fight against Kendo Castaneda that ESPN was to televise July 7, Rodriguez contracted COVID-19.

The 25-year-old Rodriguez was never hospitalized, but the virus kept him from training for about a month and delayed his return to the ring for six additional weeks. Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs), of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, will square off against Anthony Laureano (13-0, 4 KOs, 1 NC) in a 10-round welterweight bout ESPN+ will stream Saturday night as part of the Eleider Alvarez-Joe Smith Jr. undercard from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas (7:30 p.m. ET; 4:30 p.m. PT).

Laureano, of East Hartford, Connecticut, weighed in at 145.9 pounds Friday, nearly four full pounds above the contracted limit of 142. Rodriguez weighed 141.5 pounds.

Their fight remained on the card after they agreed on the 25-year-old Laureano paying a portion of his purse to Rodriguez. While displeased with Laureano’s blatant disregard for their contracts, Rodriguez is confident he’ll win his first fight in eight months impressively.

“We’re on two different levels,” Rodriguez told BoxingScene.com. “He comes forward and I guess he’s tough or whatever, but we’re just on two different levels.”

Rodriguez had hoped 2020 would be the year his stalled career completely got back on track. Before boxing in July 2019, the 2013 national Golden Gloves champion endured nearly a two-year layoff largely caused by his surgically repaired left shoulder.

Rodriguez, who is promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and managed by James Prince, won three fights in a five-month span during the second half of last year. He was supposed to box St. Louis’ Dannie Williams (24-3, 18 KOs) on March 17 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York, but that card was scrapped March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rodriguez hopes to regain some of the momentum he had established by beating Laureano convincingly.

“I just don’t want there to be any more doubt or hesitation or anything like that when talking about me,” Rodriguez said. “So, I’m just gonna go in there and do what I’m supposed to do against this opponent. I’m taking it one fight at a time. There are a lot of other things and aspects that are involved in the whole process. We’re just focused on one fight at a time and keeping the ball rolling.”

Facing Castaneda (17-2, 8 KOs, 1 NC) would’ve given Top Rank’s matchmakers a good indication of Rodriguez’s readiness for a top opponent. Once Rodriguez withdrew from their fight, San Antonio’s Castaneda replaced an injured Ivan Baranchyk and lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Jose Zepeda (32-2, 25 KOs, 1 NC) on July 7 at MGM Grand Conference Center.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez recovered from COVID-19.

“I was really in shape, I was doing a lot of rounds and I was feeling good,” Rodriguez said. “And then one day, I just started to lose my sense of smell and taste. I didn’t really notice it right away, but then the next couple days in the gym I noticed that I really started to tire out pretty quickly. And that was a was little surprising to me. Then, little by little, I just started to realize it. People around me started to get tested, and they turned out positive. As far as what I felt, I even tried to keep up with my running at one point.

“But then, it just got to a point where you just can’t get up from the couch. The shortness of breath really got to me. My breathing capacity was really limited. There would be times when I would even try to go for walks around the block, but just I guess the weather or the humidity in the air was kind of tough on me, just walking. There’s nothing you really could do besides lay in bed or stay indoors, really take it easy. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Once he felt healthy, Rodriguez traveled to Las Vegas, where he spent the past five weeks training and sparring at trainer Ismael Salas’ gym. He didn’t feel any effects from the coronavirus while he prepared to fight Laureano.

“I had a great training camp,” Rodriguez said. “I sparred a bunch of rounds, ran seven, eight miles [a day]. It was no problem.”

Recovering from COVID-19 was more problematic, yet not life-threatening.

“It didn’t really scare me at all,” Rodriguez said. “Every morning I would wake up, I would run to a candle and smell it and see if I’m getting back my sense of smell. And I would just see where I’m at in terms of my breathing capacity, things like that. There were some bad days and some good days. But overall, I think I’d rather have that than the regular flu.”

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