By Jake Donovan

As BoxingScene.com broke the details regarding the details of the March 7 kickoff event for Al Haymon’s boxing series on NBC, the next major bout was also revealed during a press conference held Wednesday morning in New York City.

The April 11 edition of the series – titled “Premiere Boxing Champions” and carrying the tagline #PBConNBC – will feature the long-awaited super lightweight unification bout between Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson. The bout will air live on NBC’s flagship station, one of five cards this year scheduled for prime time coverage on free TV.

Garcia and Peterson appeared on the same card last August on Showtime, both in gross mismatches but with the hope it would lead to a head-on collision. Boxing fans get their wish, even if it comes at the expense of others – namely Showtime and Golden Boy Promotions, who were persuaded to involve themselves in the August 9 show at Barclay Center in Brooklyn that was shredded by the media and boxing fans alike.

Neither entity will be involved in the April 11 unification bout. Both fighters are exclusive to Haymon’s advisory label, severing ties with Golden Boy Promotions as part of a recent settlement.

Garcia (29-0, 17KO) gained universal recognition as World lineal super lightweight king following his 12-round win over Lucas Matthysse in September ’13. Just one defense has followed, a disputed points win over Mauricio Herrera last March, a night that marked his first career fight in Puerto Rico in paying homage to his Boricua ancestry (Garcia was born and raised in Philadelphia; both of his parents were born in Puerto Rico).

The bout that linked him to a showdown with Peterson came in non-title capacity, scoring a second-round knockout of overmatched Rod Salka, who was moving up more than two weight classes for the catchweight bout. The bout was regarded as among the worst televised mismatches of the year, though the starting point for Haymon’s plans for his upcoming series.

On that same show, Peterson (32-2-1, 16KOs) made the third defense of his alphabet title with a 10th round stoppage of game but overmatched Edgar Santana.

Peterson’s title reign has been laced with controversy, including his still serving as a beltholder. The D.C.-based super lightweight scored a split decision win over Amir Khan at home to win two belts in their Dec. ’11 bout. Plans for a rematch that following May were thwarted when Peterson was popped for synthetic testosterone in his system, revealed during random pre-fight drug testing as conducted by Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).

The test result prompted Peterson to disclose that he was undergoing treatment as far back as before the Dec. ’11 fight, despite the fact that it was never caught in testing conducted by the Washington D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission. Peterson was forced to give back one of the two belts won that evening, but still remains IBF titlist to this day.

To his credit, Peterson remained an advocate of random drug testing, which is a good thing since he – and all fighters participating in the PBC on NBC series – will be subject to year-round Olympic-style random drug testing as conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Peterson received a one-year ban, returning in Feb. ’13 with an 8th round stoppage of Kendall Holt for the first of three title defenses. His lone other defense in between Holt and Santana came at home in Washington D.C. last January, thoroughly outpointing previously unbeaten Dierry Jean.

Outside of his 140 lb. title reign, Peterson suffered a 3rd round knockout at the lethal hands of Matthysse in their May ’13 clash. The bout – which paved the way for Garcia-Matthysse – took place at a catchweight of 141 lb., meaning Peterson’s belt was not on the line (the bout counted as an official defense for Matthysse, whom would have been stripped had he lost).

A location has yet to be announced for the upcoming Garcia-Peterson clash.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox