The progression of amateur standout and welterweight prospect Giovanni Marquez continues.

Marquez will face William Marcell Davis Saturday night at the Bayou Event Center in his hometown of Houston, Texas. The four-round bout will precede the main event bout between unbeaten junior lightweight Eridson Garcia of the Dominican Republic and Gabriel Smith.

The 21-year-old Marquez (2-0, 1 knockout) last fought on June 17, stopping journeyman Ariel Vasquez of Nicaragua in the second round. After a successful amateur career, Marquez made his highly-anticipated debut on March 11, defeating Nelson Morales by unanimous decision. The fight took place to much fanfare as it opened up a ShoBox telecast.

Marquez is the son of 1992 U.S. Olympian and former two-time world junior middleweight titleholder Raul Marquez, who currently provides color commentary for Showtime platforms.

The elder Marquez, who is also Giovanni’s trainer, was pleased with his son’s performance after his last bout. He is confident Giovanni is beginning to find his own niche in the sport.

“I thought Giovanni did well (on June 17), given Vasquez had faced a lot of young fighters and prospects and had not been stopped by them,” Marquez told The Ring in a recent interview. “When he fought on ShoBox, I thought he did okay, given the circumstances of cameras always on you. Some of these fighters that have 10, 15 fights end up freezing and being overwhelmed by the platform, and Giovanni handled it as well as he did.

“He looked much better (in the Vasquez fight). We worked on things in the gym, including working behind a consistent jab and sitting down on his punches. I thought Giovanni did well sitting down on his punches against Vasquez and going to the body as well. Obviously, there’s still a lot to work on, but I’m pleased with the result. I wanted Giovanni to dominate, but I really wanted that knockout. He’s getting better.”

Davis (5-13-1, 5 KOs), who resides in Memphis, Tennessee, was stopped by Harold Johnson in his last bout on June 18. The 36-year-old has lost seven of his last 10 fights.

Garcia stopped Rafael Reyes in the opening round of his last bout on March 5. In his previous fight on December 4, the 28-year-old (16-0, 10 KOs) defeated once-beaten D’Angelo Keyes by unanimous decision.

Smith (11-2-1, 4 KOs), who resides in Houston, has won his last two bouts after going winless in his previous three. His most notable fight as a pro was a unanimous decision loss to fringe contender Bill Hutchinson in December 2015.

Lightweight Luis Acosta (12-1, 11 KOs) of Houston will square off against Mexico’s Abdel Sauceda (11-1, 7 KOs) in a six-round bout.

Acosta also fought on the ShoBox telecast on March 11, losing by knockout to Edwin de los Santos in the second round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @FSalazarBoxing