Vergil Ortiz Jr. will be in very capable hands this weekend, even if not in the presence of his head trainer.

The unbeaten welterweight knockout artist from Grand Prairie, Texas will head into his upcoming hometown headliner versus Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-1-1, 18KOs) under the guidance of his father, Vergil Ortiz Sr. who takes the lead in the corner this Saturday. The bout—which airs live on DAZN from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas—takes place at the same time as Ortiz’s stablemate, Joshua Franco (17-1-2, 8KOs; 1ND) who faces Australia’s Andrew Moloney (21-1, 14KOs; 1ND) in a trilogy bout on ESPN in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Their shared head trainer, Robert Garcia will be in Tulsa with part of the team working with Franco. Ortiz Sr. will be assisted by Eduardo Garcia and Robert Garcia Jr., Robert Sr.’s father and son, respectively.

“I’m obviously comfortable with my dad,” Ortiz told BoxingScene.com of the new look for this weekend. “I’d rather have my dad in my corner at all times. That’s the one person that’s always going to have my back.”

All hands were on deck for Ortiz’s most recent bout, a seventh-round stoppage of local friendly rival Maurice Hooker this past March at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. It marked the first time since the final bout of his 2019 Prospect of the Year tour that Ortiz’s entire team was on hand for the fight itself. Ortiz headlined the first DAZN card out of the pandemic last July, though without the fight night services of Garcia who tested positive for COVID and was not permitted to enter the Indio Casino bubble.

Ortiz proceeded with his fight versus Samuel Vargas with his father taking the lead, and the young boxer prevailing by seventh-round stoppage, his longest as a pro to that point.

The lead voice in his corner once the fight is underway has never been an issue for Ortiz. He was raised on the sport through his father, with continued education coming from Garcia while Ortiz Sr. remains a permanent fixture in camp and among the team. Once the bell sounds, Ortiz still has to get the job done, no matter who is telling him how to do so.

“When it comes to fight night, it’s just going to come down to feeling him out, making adjustments and go from there,” insists Ortiz.

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