Amilcar Vidal has demonstrated knockout power, but he’s also confident that he can outbox anyone put in front of him. As the level of opposition has increased in recent fights so has Vidal’s confidence.

On Saturday, he will take another step up in opposition when he faces Immanuwel Aleem at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The 10-round bout will open the three-bout ’Showtime Championship Boxing’ telecast (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT), which will be headlined by the junior middleweight showdown between Ring Magazine champion and unified titleholder Jermell Charlo and WBO counterpart Brian Castaño.

At Friday’s weigh-in, Vidal and Aleem both weighed in below the contract weight of 162 pounds. Vidal weighed 161.5 pounds, while Aleem came in at 162.

Vidal (12-0, 11 knockouts), who is originally from Montevideo, Uruguay and now resides in Coachella, California, last fought on November 14, knocking out Edward Ortiz in two rounds. The victory over Ortiz marked Vidal’s third consecutive win over an unbeaten fighter – he’d previously scored back-to-back first-round knockouts over Zach Prieto and Leopoldo Reyna.

The 25-year-old will now face a significant challenge in Aleem (18-2-2, 11 KOs), who scored a knockout victory over Ievgen Khytrov in January 2017 and held Matt Korobov to a draw in May 2019. Despite the fact that Aleem has had just one win in his previous four outings, Vidal refuses to overlook him.

“(Aleem) is a great fighter,” Vidal told The Ring. “He does have more experience and has faced top fighters in his previous bouts, but I’m confident in my abilities. We trained in Miami for this fight. I’m very motivated for this opportunity to fight on a great card that is headlined by the Charlo-Castaño fight. I’m 100-percent mentally and physically ready, as I’m sure he will be as well. I want to put on a great show for the fans.

“There are a lot of great opportunities for me at 160 pounds. Even as I’ve built my career early on, I take everything fight by fight and step by step. Winning an important fight against Aleem would put us in a great position, but we can’t afford to overlook someone like Aleem on Saturday. After a victory, then we can see what the future holds for me.”

Vidal has been able to count on the knowledge and experience of promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, who discovered Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez, and currently promotes the likes of lightweight contender Javier Fortuna, unbeaten super middleweight David Benavidez, unbeaten junior middleweight Sebastian Fundora and unbeaten lightweight Michel Rivera.

Both Vidal and Lewkowicz are from Uruguay, which is a country in South America with a little over three million inhabitants. Despite having a population smaller than the city of Houston, Texas, their national soccer team competes on the grand stage of the World Cup every four years and has an amateur boxing program that excels in international tournaments.

Vidal has placed trust in Lewkowicz to continue making the right moves.

“It’s a pleasure and I’m proud to work with Sampson,” said Vidal. “I don’t feel the pressure, in fact, I feel an honor in representing my country, wherever I’m at in the world. Sampson and I work together to put me in the best possible position to win, but to also face the best opposition in the development of my career.”

Vidal hopes to one day become the first male fighter from Uruguay to become a world titleholder. Lightweight Cecilia Comuales and junior middleweight Christian ‘Chris’ Namus are the only fighters from the country to have won world title belts. But for now Vidal is happy with his progress and will continue on his chosen path.

“It’s a privilege to represent my country and my flag,” he said. “I don’t let the pressure get to me. I just want to do my best and continue representing Uruguay in the best possible way.”

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

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