By Keith Idec

Eric Gomez figured Miguel Berchelt was the last thing Francisco Vargas needed.

Vargas survived back-to-back brutal brawls with Takashi Miura and Orlando Salido in his previous two fights. That’s why Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions’ president and primary matchmaker, suggested Vargas face a lesser opponent in his first fight following his epic slugfest against Salido, which resulted in a majority draw.

Berchelt was among a group of potential opponents HBO would approve for the 32-year-old Vargas’ return, but hardly at the top of Gomez’s list. Vargas convinced his manager, Ralph Heredia, that nearly six months off following the grueling Salido fight was enough to accept an assignment against a powerful fighter like Berchelt.

They’ll meet Saturday night in an HBO “Boxing After Dark” main event at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.

“We were a little bit worried,” Gomez said during a press conference this week. “We said, ‘This guy’s tough.’ Vargas is capable and he’s had very tough fights. And I was worried. But then Ralph told me, ‘I spoke Vargas, Eric. We’re good. Vargas will take on anybody. You know that. And that’s the style that he likes. He likes guys that are aggressive. He likes guys that come to fight.’ And I was worried. I didn’t wanna make the fight.

“I was like, ‘He’s unknown a little bit. … He’s got a bunch of knockouts. And he’s very tough. He’s a guy that’s gonna try to come and knock him out.’ But I know that Vargas is a veteran now. He’s a world champion. And these are the types of fights that should be on HBO, the fights where you don’t know who’s gonna win, the fights that are 50-50, anybody can win. The guys that are coming to try to knock you out. And that’s what we’re getting in Miguel Berchelt. … I think he’s gonna make a great fight. Don’t sleep on him. Don’t sleep on him, because he’s a very tough guy. He can pull off the upset and I know that.”

Mexico City’s Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) is a slight favorite over Berchelt (30-1, 27 KOs), of Merida, Mexico, entering their 12-round fight for Vargas’ WBC world super featherweight championship. The 25-year-old Berchelt has won nine straight fights, all by knockout, since suffering his lone loss, a first-round technical knockout to Colombia’s Luis Florez (22-5, 18 KOs) in March 2014.

“I think he’s a great champion,” Berchelt told HBO Sports in reference to Vargas. “He’s had two wars recently, but I have a long list of knockouts and I think that’s what the secret is to this fight. … Whenever you have two Mexicans in the ring, it’s a great show. And this will not be the exception.”

HBO’s broadcast is set to start at 10 p.m. ET. The first “Boxing After Dark” bout will match Japan’s Miura (30-3-2, 23 KOs), a former WBC world super featherweight champ, against Mexico’s Miguel Roman (56-11, 43 KOs).

Vargas stopped Miura in the ninth round of their epic encounter 14 months ago in Las Vegas. The Boxing Writers Association of America voted Vargas-Miura its “Fight of the Year” for 2015.

If Vargas and Miura win Saturday night, they’re expected to meet in a rematch next.

“Truthfully, you can’t think about the future,” Berchelt said. “You have to think in the present. And, you know, they’re talking past me already. And I think he might have a problem in this fight.”

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