Lamont Roach saw weakness in Hector Luis Garcia when he watched Gervonta Davis stop the Dominican southpaw in Garcia’s last fight.

Garcia’s reaction to Davis’ devastating punches late in the eighth round has convinced Roach that he can make the WBA super featherweight champion wilt when they meet in a 12-round, 130-pound title fight Saturday night in Las Vegas. Roach (23-1-1, 9 KOs) has knocked out only 36 percent of his opponents as a pro, yet he is confident he can stop Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs, 3 NC) inside the distance in Showtime Pay-Per-View’s opener on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade undercard at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT; $74.99).

“Man, I’m from the trenches,” Roach said during a virtual press conference recently. “Man, I’m sticking to my guns, for sure. Like that’s what I’m here for. Mind you, I was there for that Tank fight. Like I was there, front row. Like I was there. I seen Tank take the fight out of him. I think I can do the same thing. I know I can, for sure – for sure, for sure. So, I hope he ain’t gun-shy, cuz it might be quick.”

The 28-year-old Roach, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is the WBA’s mandatory challenger for Garcia’s championship. He’ll end a 16-month layoff when he squares off against Garcia in his first fight since Roach defeated Venezuela’s Angel Rodriguez (21-3, 11 KOs) by unanimous decision in a 12-rounder that took place in July 2022 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The 32-year-old Garcia has moved back down from the 135-pound division to his natural weight class after suffering his first professional loss to Davis (29-0, 27 KOs). Baltimore’s Davis drilled Garcia with a left hand that hurt him toward the end of the eighth round of what had been a somewhat competitive contest January 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

A staggered Garcia started to walk to the wrong corner after the eighth round ended. He complained about blurry vision between the eighth and ninth rounds, which prompted referee Earl Brown to halt the action very early in the ninth round.

Garcia, who is listed by FanDuel sportsbook as almost a 4-1 favorite over Roach, was unfazed by Roach’s tough talk during the abovementioned virtual press conference.

“Let him talk,” Garcia said, according to his translator. “Lamont Roach, like most American fighters, what they do is they like to talk. That’s his thing. Good for him. But my responsibility is to defend that title and exit the ring walking out like a champion. So, that’s what I’m gonna focus on. I’m not a big talker. I prefer to talk inside the ring, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”

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