Hector Luis Garcia considers his lone loss an aberration.

Ten months after his ninth-round, technical-knockout defeat to Gervonta Davis, the Dominican southpaw plans to prove that he is a much more formidable fighter than he showed that night against one of boxing’s most dangerous knockout artists. Davis rocked Garcia with a left hand late in the eighth round, which helped give Garcia the blurry vision that prevented him from answering the bell to start the ninth round January 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs, 3 NC) will fight for the first time Saturday night since Davis defeated him.

He’ll make a mandated defense of his WBA super featherweight title against Lamont Roach (23-1-1, 9 KOs). The 12-round, 130-pound championship clash between Garcia, 32, and Roach, 28, will open Showtime Pay-Per-View’s four-fight telecast from Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT; $74.99).

FanDuel sportsbook has established Garcia as almost a 4-1 favorite to beat Roach, who has won four fights in a row. Garcia expects a convincing victory over Roach to help him regain some of the momentum he had before he temporarily moved up to the lightweight division to challenge Baltimore’s Davis (29-0, 27 KOs).

“They’re gonna say, ‘There goes the defending champion, the guy that went out there and successfully defended his throne at 130 pounds,’ ” Garcia said through his translator during a virtual press conference recently. “And, more than anything, I’m gonna prove that what happened against Gervonta Davis was a fluke and that it’s never gonna happen again. No excuses.”

Roach, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is confident that he is the best opponent of Garcia’s career other than Davis. Garcia contended during the abovementioned virtual press conference that his two most recent conquests, former 130-pound champions Chris Colbert (17-1, 6 KOs) and Roger Gutierrez (27-5-1, 21 KOs), are both better fighters than Roach.

Regardless, Roach reminded Garcia of what he said.

“I like that – no excuse,” Roach said. “That’s what I like to hear. I’m not tryna hear anything. He won’t hear anything from me, either. It’s no excuse on this end. That’s the name of my gym, No Excuse. So, I like that.”

Garcia-Roach will be one of three bouts broadcast before David Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) will defend his WBC interim super middleweight title against Demetrius Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) in the 12-round main event.

Hector Luis Garcia considers what happened closer to the beginning of the eighth round of his fight against Gervonta Davis as impactful as the damaging left hand Davis landed toward the end of it.

The Dominican southpaw recalled during an interview with BoxingScene.com that a break in the action caused by a fight among fans at ringside January 7 disrupted his rhythm and made the bout more difficult for him once the action resumed. Referee Earl Brown stopped their lightweight title fight with 2:08 to go in the eighth round once he noticed the commotion that attracted a lot of attention near the ring.

Brown sent Garcia and Davis to neutral corners while security escorted a group of fans from their ringside seats at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Garcia grew cold, he said, by the time he and Davis were brought back together.

Davis drilled him with a left hand that wobbled Garcia with just under 20 seconds remaining in the eighth round. Garcia remained on his feet until the eighth round ended, but blurry vision left him unable to continue.

Brown declared Davis the winner by technical knockout early in the ninth round. Baltimore’s Davis led on the scorecards of judges Steve Rodas (79-73), Wayne Smith (79-73) and Dave Moretti (78-74) through eight rounds.

“I specifically remember that the fight was stopped in the eighth round because there was a fight outside of the ring,” Garcia said, according to his translator. “And that really screwed me up. It made me cold. I couldn’t warm up again. And then, once I felt like I couldn’t get warmed up again, it locked me up. So, I feel like that was the moment that truly turned things against me. I was wondering why they stopped the fight at that time. That’s the moment that I’ve replayed in my mind.”

Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs, 3 NC) will fight for the first time Saturday night since he suffered his first professional loss versus Davis (29-0, 27 KOs), who retained his WBA world lightweight title that night. He has moved back down to the 130-pound division to defend his WBA super featherweight crown against mandatory challenger Lamont Roach (23-1-1, 9 KOs), of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, on the Showtime Pay-Per-View portion of 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).

The 32-year-old Garcia is fully focused on Roach, yet he can help but wonder what would’ve happened had the abovementioned break in the action not occurred during the biggest fight of his career nine months ago.

“There was a fight outside the ring, and then the fight resumed,” Garcia said. “That’s when Gervonta landed a really good punch against me, and it made my vision blurry. I was seeing double. I was there physically, defending myself, but when I looked at him all I could see was a blur.

“I remember watching the fight again on TV and I saw myself going to the wrong corner, to Gervonta’s corner, and the referee kind of turned me around, like, ‘Nope, this isn’t your corner. You’ve gotta go that way.’ That made me say, ‘Oh, f—! I was really messed up, huh?’ And then the rest is history, how the fight got stopped and everything.”

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.”