LAS VEGAS – Carlos Castro’s disappointment didn’t last long.

Barely a day elapsed from the time that the undefeated 122-pound contender’s hometown fight was scrapped and he was added to the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas undercard Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Castro’s opponent, Oscar Escandon, remained the same, but their fight will take place one week earlier than planned.

Castro-Escandon was supposed to open Showtime’s tripleheader August 28 from Footprint Center in Phoenix. That show was postponed indefinitely because its headliner, former WBC super middleweight champ David Benavidez, contracted COVID-19.

“We were gonna fight at home,” Castro told krikya360.com, “but when this opportunity came through and they offered it to us, we were like, ‘It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.’ Like they say, it might be Manny Pacquiao’s last fight. I wanna see a legend we all looked up to growing up. It’s a great opportunity for me. It’s a dream come true for a little kid from a trailer park, man. To be on a stage like this, it’s awesome. The disappointment turned into something greater and something better that I’m looking forward to.”

The 10-round bout in which Castro (26-0, 11 KOs) will encounter Colombia’s Escandon (26-5, 18 KOs) will open FOX Sports’ four-fight pay-per-view show at 9 p.m. EDT ($74.95). It was added to this card because Ugas was elevated from his undercard slot to the main event once Pacquiao’s original opponent, Errol Spence Jr., withdrew to have surgery to repair his damaged right retina.

Castro and Escandon were afforded two extra pounds, from a catch weight of 124 to the featherweight limit of 126, prior to Friday’s weigh-in because they were asked on such short notice to make weight a week earlier than they had planned.

The 27-year-old Castro will fight for the first time since parting ways with his former promoter, Top Rank Inc. Castro wanted to fight much more frequently, which he is confident will happen now that he is aligned with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions and TGB Promotions.

If the favored Castro wins Saturday night, he’ll remain in prime position for a 122-pound world title shot. Castro is ranked second by the WBC, fourth by the WBO and fifth by the IBF.

“I’ve got Escandon in front of me, who I know is not an easy task,” said Castro, who will end a 13-month layoff. “But I trained hard for this fight. I look at it like he is the gatekeeper for my future, my kids’ future and the future of my family. After this, I’ll ask my new promoter, TGB, for an opportunity. I would love the opportunity to face the winner of Figueroa versus Fulton.”

Brandon Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, and Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) will fight for Figueroa’s WBC championship and Fulton’s WBO belt in a 12-round, 122-pound title unification fight September 18. Showtime will air Figueroa-Fulton as the main event of a doubleheader from Park Theater at Park MGM in Las Vegas.

“They’re both great fighters, both great champions,” Castro said. “The only difference I see is Fulton has more speed and he has great boxing ability. Figueroa is a tough guy that everyone always underestimates, but he always comes out surprising them. If I have to pick, I’d pick Figueroa by decision.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.