Junior welterweight contender Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera signed a promotional contract with Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions and the Riverside prizefighter will be fighting current junior welterweight world champion Danny “Swift” Garcia on March 15, said Willy Silva, who manages and trains Herrera.

Herrera, 33, is one of only two fighters to defeat Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov. The other was Palm Springs boxer Timothy Bradley.

The Riverside prizefighter last fought in Ontario where he defeated Miguel Angel Huerta by unanimous decision this past September. Previously, he lost by decision against Mike Alvarado in Las Vegas, a fight which was nominated as Fight of the Year. His clash with Provodnikov the previous year was voted Fight of the Year by several publications.

The contract with Golden Boy Promotions was signed on Monday and Herrera was given a $30,000 signing bonus.

Herrera started late in pro boxing. Despite a successful amateur career, his previous boxing coach refused to let him turn professional. After several years of inaction, Herrera decided to become a professional boxer and signed with Willy Silva to be his trainer. Silva currently trains Juan Reyes and Herrera’s younger brother Alberto Herrera.

Previously, Herrera was promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions, until the contract lapsed this year, according to Silva. The Orange County-based promoters also discovered and signed Tim Bradley, Yohnny Perez, and Jonothan “Momo” Romero who all became world champions. They also maintain contracts with Josesito Lopez and Juan Carlos Burgos, who fights Mikey Garcia on Saturday in Madison Square Garden.

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