By Keith Idec

Miguel Marriaga swears he won’t waste this opportunity.

Marriaga (25-1, 21 KOs) lost the last time he face an undefeated opponent on a big stage. The Colombian contender is 5-0 since suffering that lopsided, 12-round defeat to Jamaica’s Nicholas Walters in June 2015 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The 30-year-old Marriaga’s second championship chance will come against Mexico’s Oscar Valdez on Saturday night in Carson, California. Their 12-round fight for Valdez’s WBO world featherweight title will headline a four-fight pay-per-view broadcast from StubHub Center ($54.95 in HD; 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

“I’m not here to go sightseeing,” Marriaga said. “I’m here to go headhunting. I intend to knock that world championship crown off Valdez. He’s not invincible. I am prepared to go to war for 12 rounds. I’m in great condition. But if I get the chance to knock him out, I’m going for it. Colombia needs a world champion and I’m hungry to become one.”

The 26-year-old Valdez (21-0, 19 KOs) will make the second defense of the WBO 126-pound championship he won by stopping Argentina’s Matias Carlos Rueda (27-1, 24 KOs) on July 23 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“When I was a small boy I dreamed of becoming a world champion,” Valdez said. “I worked my whole life to become a world champion, and I want to be a champion for a long time. Marriaga is the toughest fighter that I have ever faced. I know how great he is and what he will be trying to take from me on Saturday night. I won’t let him do it. This title belt means so much to me. I won’t let him take my title belt. This Saturday, I’m going to defend the Mexican flag with great pride.”

Saturday’s show also will include the pro debut of 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson. The Newark, New Jersey, native is set to box Phoenix’s Edgar Brito (3-2-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round featherweight fight.

The co-featured fight will match Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez (34-0, 24 KOs), the WBO world super middleweight champion, against Ukraine’s Max Bursak (33-4-1, 15 KOs). Las Vegas’ Jessie Magdaleno (24-0, 17 KOs) will battle Brazil’s Adeilson Dos Santos (18-2, 14 KOs) in the other televised fight, a 12-rounder for Magdaleno’s WBO world super bantamweight championship.

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