By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – If you don’t know him, you should.

The powerful prospect from Orlando, Florida, also appreciates the magnitude of the opportunity that awaits him. More than three times as many people probably will watch his fight Saturday night against Jorge Cota on CBS than would watch it if HBO or Showtime were to televise it.

This isn’t just a platform for the 21-year-old Lubin (17-0, 12 KOs) to earn a shot at the WBC super welterweight championship currently owned by Jermell Charlo. It’s an uncommon chance to resonate among millions of television viewers who might be casual boxing fans at best.

Lubin promises he won’t waste it.

“This means a lot,” Lubin told BoxingScene.com. “Me getting to fight on CBS, in prime time, and you’ve got a great main event in Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia, it’s a chance for me to leave my mark right now and do something special. I couldn’t ask for more than this. He’s in the way of me getting my title and I’ve gotta run him over.”

The Lubin-Cota contest will open just the second CBS boxing broadcast in prime time since Leon Spinks upset lineal heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in February 1978. The main event between Philadelphia’s Garcia (33-0, 19 KOs), the WBC world welterweight champion, and Clearwater, Florida’s Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs, 1 NC), the WBA world welterweight champion, has rightfully received most of the fan and media attention in advance of this CBS doubleheader (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

But Lubin intends to “steal the show” against Cota (25-1, 22 KOs), who on paper appears to be the most dangerous opponent the strong southpaw has agreed to fight since he turned pro amid much fanfare in November 2013. Mexico’s Cota has knocked out 85 percent of his professional opponents since making his pro debut in June 2009.

“You guys can expect fireworks,” Lubin said. “But I’m gonna be smart. I know he’s gonna go in there and try to throw bombs at me and show he’s the bigger man. But I’ll show him who’s the bigger man. It’s ‘Hammer Time.’ ”

The 29-year-old Cota defeated former Cuban Olympian Yudel Johnson (17-3, 9 KOs) by unanimous decision in his last fight. Cota dropped Johnson once apiece in the eighth and ninth rounds on his way to winning a 10-rounder on all three scorecards (96-91, 96-91, 95-92) on August 2 in Winter Park, Florida.

Beating Johnson extended Cota’s winning streak to nine fights since fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio (59-8-1, 51 KOs) stopped him in the seventh round of their June 2012 fight in Torreon, Mexico. The lone blemish on Cota’s record notwithstanding, his manager, Sampson Lewkowicz, expects Cota to test Lubin unlike any of his previous opponents have been able to do.

“I don’t bring opponents,” Lewkowicz said. “I’m very insulted by what my friend, [promoter] Lou DiBella, said. I don’t bring opponents. I bring challengers to the business. And don’t miss the fight because mostly likely, on the undercard it will be the fight of the night.

“It’s a very tough fight, but I won’t be surprised if my guy wins. [Cota is] not an opponent. [Lubin] hasn’t fought anybody. With that in mind, I can tell you that Lubin is in a fight.”

Everyone involved in the promotion seemingly realizes Lubin has been matched with an opponent capable of ruining the 154-pound prodigy’s promising career. Espinoza is among those confident, though, that Lubin can deliver an entertaining performance in the first fight of his three-year career that has been scheduled for 12 rounds.

“If you look at his performances, they’re consistently strong,” said Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager for Showtime Sports. “The other thing that speaks well for him is he’s in a really talent-laden division, so there are a lot of good fights at each level. But to be, at his stage, ranked where he is, at just 21 years of age, it’s really, really promising if he continues his current trajectory.”

All but two of Lubin’s first 17 professional fights were televised, which Espinoza attributes to the star potential many within the boxing industry see in Lubin.

“I think that shows really what programmers and executives have, in terms of confidence, in his performances,” Espinoza said. “So I think he’s got a chance to make a statement. But the reality is he’s facing a guy who’s tougher than anyone he’s ever faced in his career. It’s easy sometimes to get ahead of yourself and say, ‘This is a great opportunity. I have to look good.’ No, you have to win a fight against a guy who’s a dangerous puncher. And then, at that point, he’s a very articulate, likeable, charismatic guy. And he’s got an incredibly strong pedigree, amateur-wise. Really, the sky is the limit for him.”

The winner of the Lubin-Cota fight is expected to become the mandatory challenger for the WBC super welterweight championship.

Houston’s Jermell Charlo (28-0, 13 KOs) is scheduled to make a mandatory defense of that title against Dallas’ Charles Hatley (26-1-1, 18 KOs) sometime in the spring. Charlo and Hatley were supposed to meet March 11 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, but their Showtime co-feature has been postponed because Oscar Escandon’s back injury forced him to delay his shot at WBC world featherweight champ Gary Russell Jr.

Lubin, ranked No. 4 by the WBC, or the seventh-ranked Cota likely will fight the Charlo-Hatley survivor in his next bout. Lubin expects that fight to pit him against Charlo.

“I remember him doing an interview [recently] and saying I’m five, six fights away from fighting him,” Lubin said. “Well, I’m gonna give him an early surprise. He’s gonna get a surprise.”

Lubin won’t turn 22 until October 1, which means he could become one of boxing’s youngest world champions if he can win a world title sometime in the foreseeable future. The cerebral contender knows, though, the he has to concentrate completely on Cota, or risk having his championship dream shattered in front of an enormous national television audience.

“I wanna show them everything,” Lubin said. “I wanna show them I’ve got speed, I’ve got power, I’ve got movement, I’ve got everything. I wanna show them I’ve got the goods.”

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