One-time world title challenger Michael “Hot ‘N Spicy” Dasmariñas takes a major step towards world title contention when he meets Eduardo Esquivel of Belize in a featherweight rumble on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Lions Gate in the Cayman Islands.

During the official weigh-in on the eve of the match, Dasmariñas came in at 124.4 lbs while Esquivel stepped in at 125.6 lbs.

This will be Dasmariñas’ seventh fight since losing to Naoya Inoue on a third-round knockout in a bid to win the world bantamweight crown in 2021 in the United States.

Now being trained by former Philippine national team head coach Ting Ariosa, the southpaw Dasmariñas has been based in Los Angeles the past year or so and is determined to get in the mix of title contenders.

A win over Esquivel would help him shore up his stock and Ariosa feels that 2025 could be a breakout year for the Camarines Sur native.

In racking up a 35-3-2 win-loss-draw record, Dasmariñas has also seen action in Japan, South Africa, China and Singapore.

Actually the Esquivel bout will be Dasmariñas’ second outing in the Cayman Islands after having seen action there last year.