Big boxing cards are a staple of Mexican Independence Day weekend every year. With Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terrence “Bud” Crawford scheduled to throw down in a mega-fight Saturday night inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, one boxer from Turlock is hoping to give local fans some early fireworks right in his backyard.

On Friday night from the Merced County Fairgrounds, Christian Palacio will make his professional boxing debut, a dream seven years in the making. Standing across from the Turlock native in the 154-pound super welterweight bout will be Andres Ponce of Scottsdale, Ariz., who sports an 0-3 professional record.

“Since I was 18, I've been training. I'm 25 now, so it's been a long time coming, these seven years,” Palacio said. “I feel like this is everything I've ever worked for is for this moment, right here and right now. It's just the start of my new career. From this point on for the next 10 to 12 years, this is what I'll be doing.”

Palacio will enter the ring after a stellar amateur career in which he compiled a 16-6 record, with his most recent hardware coming last year with a top finish at the ​​Central Valley Gold Gloves Tournament.

But Friday will bring the biggest stage Palacio has ever stepped foot on, with roughly 5,000 people expected to file into the fairgrounds for the five-fight card, which gets underway at 6 p.m. It is also his first bout at four rounds, as amateur competitions are three.

“I've always loved to show off,” Palacio joked. “Not as much like showing off my belt or being cocky, but showing off my skills and everything I worked for. I want to give the fans a great performance.”

Palacio — nicknamed “La Maquina” which is Spanish for “The Machine” — stands 6-foot-1. He and his team don’t know much about Ponce other than the fact that he has a background in mixed martial arts, which leads them to believe that he come out aggressive.

“I’m very confident, just very laser focused. Every day I wake up just thinking the same thing — getting that win. It’s been a long training camp, about eight weeks, but I’m resting a lot more now, sharpening some things, and I’m feeling amazing.”

Palacio said he is not nervous at all for the bout, despite the circumstances. Not only will a lot of eyeballs be on him for a fight that carries significant weight in his professional career, but it will be the first time his late father won’t be in his corner. Adrian Palacio, head trainer, owner and founder of Palacio Truth Boxing in West Turlock, died suddenly on Jan. 24, sending shockwaves throughout the entire state’s tightly-knit boxing community.

“It was a hard loss with my father,” Palacio said. “I mean, I’m never going to be the same, but I just know everything that he taught me has put me in this position. So I just owe everything to him for this fight. It's a bittersweet feeling making my pro debut without him here. I just wish he was here to see everything. I think he'd be very proud of everything I've been doing.”

His trainer ahead of his highly anticipated debut is Andres Anthony Mariscal, a longtime friend of Adrian Palacio with over 20 years of experience.

“Adrian guided me to open my own gym,” Mariscal said. “I remember I used to ask him and his dad a lot of questions about operating a gym, training. Me, my dad, him and his dad, we all had a good bond together, and there’s a lot of trust between us, so I’m very proud to be behind Adrian’s son for this moment of his life and career. It really does mean a lot.”

“I thank God for him and everybody else behind me,” Palacio said. “My faith has probably been the strongest it’s ever been, so I thank God every day for the position I’m in now.

“It’s been kind of weird, because I haven’t cried at all throughout this whole process, because as a boxer you need to put your emotions to the side. But I have this feeling that it’s going to come out after I get that win. I’m just hoping I don’t bawl out in front of everybody when I’m getting my hand raised. But it’s been a long road and a lot of work has been put in. I’m ready for anything that comes my way.”

The Merced County Fairgrounds is located at 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Merced. Tickets are available at www.sirrocpromotions.com or can be bought at the gate when they open at 4 p.m., while supplies last. Weigh-ins will take place Thursday at 11 a.m.