Veteran Steve Forbes will step in to face undefeated welterweight prospect Jessie Vargas on the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto pay-per-view undercard on May 5. Vargas’ original opponent Alfonso Gomez had to pull out due to an injury.

Forbes (35-10, 11 knockouts) has held a major 130-pound title, was the runner up in the second season of The Contender series, challenged Andre Berto for a welterweight title and went the 12-round distance with Oscar De La Hoya in a junior middleweight bout in his 15 years in the sport.

The 35-year-old Portland native has victories over current IBF junior middleweight titleholder Cornelius Bundrage and Francisco Bojado. Forbes lost his last bout, a 10th-round TKO to welterweight prospect Karim Mayfield, last June.

Vargas (18-0, 9 KOs), of Las Vegas, is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over tough spoiler Lanardo Tyner in February. The 22-year-old Los Angeles native scored an exciting, hard-fought split decision over fringe contender Josesito Lopez on the undercard of Mayweather-Victor Ortiz last September.