It’s extremely rare when an undercard steals the limelight from an already promising main event, but that’s just what is expected at Saturday night’s “Seasons Beatings” at the Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Ark.

Comprising the undercard that will compliment Jermain Taylor’s WBC Continental Americas middleweight championship defense against former three-time world middleweight champ William Joppy are bouts that include a pair of undefeated lightweights, a 2004 Olympian and a few local favorites.

Perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the undercard is between Brooklyn’s undefeated Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi (18-0, 5 KOs) and veteran Sandro Casamonica (34-4, 21 KOs) for the vacant WBC International super lightweight title.

For Malignaggi, it’s a chance to continue his rise to the top, while stopping off and collecting some gold. Casamonica, on the other hand, is looking to extend his career with a win over the first quality opponent he has faced in some time.

“[Casamonica] probably views me as his last window of opportunity,” Malignaggi said. “I’m sure he’s saying to himself I’m not going to let this kid beat me. But he’s wrong. After I beat him, he’ll be going back to his day job in Italy.”

Casamonica’s night job in his native country has consisted of dropping lightweights to the canvas on a regular basis and has really looked impressive in his last five outings. But the same can be said for Malignaggi, especially his last one back on June 17 in Laughlin, Nev.

After injuring his right hand early in the bout against Ramiro Cano, Malignaggi fought through the pain and earned himself a unanimous 10-round decision.

“That hand had been operated on before and the pain was real,” Malignaggi explained. “But I’m a warrior.”