Former super middleweight world titlist David Benavidez will return from a rocky 13 months out of the ring to box on March 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, promoter Sampson Lewkowicz said Wednesday.

Benavidez will face an opponent to be determined in a 10-round bout in one of the televised fights on the Fox pay-per-view card headlined by the Errol Spence Jr.-Mikey Garcia welterweight world title fight, Lewkowicz said.

"We're looking for a top contender for David to fight," Lewkowicz said. "He doesn't need a tune-up. He fits perfectly on this card. People are interested in how he is coming back. People are curious."

Benavidez, who turned 22 on Monday, became the youngest fighter to win a super middleweight world title when he outpointed Ronald Gavril by split decision in September 2017 to claim a vacant 168-pound belt. He defended it in a one-sided decision against Gavril in a rematch in February and appeared to be on his way to big fights.

But Benavidez (20-0, 17 KOs), of Phoenix, was stripped of the title and suspended through February by the WBC in September for testing positive for cocaine in a random urine test conducted on Aug. 27 by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association as part of the WBC Clean Boxing Program.

Former super middleweight world titlist Anthony Dirrell (32-1-1, 24 KOs) and Avni Yildirim (21-1, 12 KOs) will meet for a vacant belt on Feb. 23 in Minneapolis. Lewkowicz said the winner of that fight must make his first defense against Benavidez, per the WBC's ruling, as long as Benavidez wins on March 16. Benavidez was supposed to face Dirrell in a mandatory defense before he was stripped of the title.

"David is training in Washington State. He is very happy and he would like to fight tomorrow," Lewkowicz said. "He's ready to come and forget the past. He is ready to look to the future."

Earlier in 2018, Benavidez had other issues as well. Despite signing a promotional contract extension with Lewkowicz in late 2017 to extend his deal through 2021, he signed another promotional contract with Top Rank and took a $250,000 signing bonus in May in an attempt to walk out on his contract with Lewkowicz. Days later, Benavidez later gave the money back to Top Rank, apologized and returned to Lewkowicz before there was litigation.