By Francisco Salazar

Unbeaten bantamweight Mario Hernandez will square off against Luis Fernando Saavedra tonight at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California.

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Hernandez weighed in at 118.3 pounds, while Saavedra tipped the scale at 119 pounds.

The Hernandez-Saavedra fight was elevated to main event status when Pedro Moreno fell ill Tuesday night, forcing to withdraw from his fight against fellow unbeaten Ramon Mascarena of Chile.

Hernandez (8-0-1, 3 knockouts) won a six-round unanimous decision over winless Luis Montellano on his last bout on Nov. 16. The fight comes almost two months after a majority decision draw against the once-beaten Ivan Gonzalez.

Whether the fight was elevated to main event status or not, Hernandez is eager to put on a solid performance.

“I’m ready to put on a great show,” said Hernandez, who is originally from Teocatiche, Jalisco, Mexico and now resides in nearby Santa Ana. “This is what you builds toward as a young boxer. I’m just going to be myself, throw a lot of punches, and get that victory.”

Saavedra (7-6, 3 KOs), who resides in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, lost an eight-round majority decision to Saul Sanchez on Oct. 19. Saavedra has lost his last four bouts, but they were all to unbeaten fighters, including Brandon Figueroa, Antonio Vargas, Christian Carto, and Sanchez.

Unbeaten Ruben Torres (7-0, 6 KOs) of Santa Monica will take on Erie, Pennsylvania’s Elliott Brown (2-6, 2 KOs) in a four round junior welterweight bout.

Lightweight George Acosta (6-0, 1 KO) of nearby Whittier will fight for the first time since June 22 when he squares off against Guadalupe Arroyo (3-14) in a four-round bout.

Two more four-round fights will round out the first Thompson Boxing Promotions card of 2019. The fight card will be streamed in its entirety on ThompsonBoxing.com or on the Thompson Boxing Promotions Facebook page (11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT).

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter FSalazarBoxing