Uruguayan prospect Amilcar Vidal made quite the first impression with U.S. fight fans and Showtime executives when he dropped Zach Prieto twice en route to a first-round stoppage in November.

More big fights await the unbeaten 23-year old, but he must first take care of business against a fellow unbeaten fighter.

The hard-hitting Vidal (10-0, 9 knockouts) squares off against Mexico’s Leopoldo Reyna Saturday night at the Radisson Victoria Plaza in his hometown of Montevideo. The 10-round bout will air on Teledoce La Tele in Uruguay and TyC in Argentina.

According to manager/ promoter Sampson Lewcowicz, Vidal’s brief performance against Prieto was enough for the top brass at Showtime to immediate consider him for the “ShoBox” series.

“The people at Showtime want him to return and fight on the network,” Lewkowicz told The Ring Tuesday afternoon. “That is the plan should he win on Saturday. We are looking at April for his next fight.”

In October, Reyna (9-0, 4 KOs) scored a first-round knockout of Edgar Robles in his hometown of Matamoros, Mexico.

“It’s going to be a great fight because Reyna will come to fight,” said Lewkowicz. “Reyna has that aggressive style and he is going to provide a solid test for Amilcar.”

Vidal, who made his pro debut in April 2018, is lucky to be walking let alone fighting. Over four years ago, he was the victim of a horrible accident which saw him run over by a truck while jogging. He spent over two months in hospital recovering from a broken pelvis and had surgery on his left arm where a scar is visible.

Lewkowicz insists that Vidal’s recovery is miraculous.

“Amilcar was told he would never walk again,” he said. “But months after he was released from the hospital, he won an amateur tournament in Peru. He’s a product of a solid amateur program in Uruguay. He’s going to continue to be a solid prospect at 160 pounds. He’s only 23 years old and has a bright future.”

Also on the Sampson Boxing card, Juan Jose Velasco will take on Leonardo Amitrano in an all-Argentinian junior welterweight clash over 12 rounds.

Velasco (20-2, 12 KOs), who resides in Buenos Aires, has lost back-to-back bouts by knockout to Regis Prograis and Mario Barrios. Amitrano (16-4, 6 KOs) has won three of his last four.

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

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