Can Jason Sanchez pull of another upset?

One didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what promoter Marshall Kauffman was thinking when he signed Jason Sanchez to a contract and put him in the ring with unbeaten Julian Gonzalez last June in Philadelphia.

Yes, Sanchez represented a step up in competition for Kauffman’s young fighter. But another victory for his guy from nearby Reading was the anticipated outcome.

Nope.

Saturday in El Paso, Albuquerque’s Sanchez, having upset Gonzalez by eight-round split decision, is scheduled to face another Kauffman (King’s Promotions) prospect in 28-year-old Dominican YeYery Castillo (14-1, 11 knockouts).

But this one looks, and feels, different.

First, there’s Castillo’s record — compiled against competition that pales against the opponents Sanchez (17-6, nine KOs) has faced.

Sanchez’s six defeats have come against opponents with a combined record of 118-7 at the time of those bouts. The list includes one former world champion, Oscar Valdez, and one current world champion, Bruce Carrington.

“I looked (Castillo) up,” Sanchez said in a recent phone interview. “He seems like a solid, solid opponent.

“But I’ve already been in there with the top level, so I should be able to beat this dude.”

Castillo’s one defeat came in his most recent fight, a loss by first-round TKO against unbeaten (17-0, seven KOs) Haven Brady Jr. on Nov. 8 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was Castillo’s first fight outside his native Dominican Republic.

Then, there’s location. Kauffman promotes mostly in his home state of Pennsylvania but clearly has an affinity for El Paso. Saturday’s card will be the sixth he has staged there in the past 28 months.

El Pasoan Stephanie Han won the WBA title she defended successfully against Albuquerque’s Holly Holm in January, and will seek to do so again in her home town on May 30, on a Kauffman card in El Paso.

Unbeaten Albuquerque flyweight Abraham Perez defeated Mexico’s Angel Geovanny Meza by unanimous decision on a Kauffman card in El Paso last July 12.

Unlike Han, Sanchez doesn’t live in El Paso. Unlike Perez, he doesn’t have family there.

But El Paso’s a lot closer to Albuquerque than Philadelphia is — and, perhaps more important, closer to Albuquerque than the Dominican Republic is.

It’s boxing, so who knows? But the odds this time, it would seem, have swung toward Sanchez.

Sanchez, nicknamed “El Alacrancito” — the Little Scorpion; his late brother Alan was “El Alacran”— signed a three-fight contract with Kauffman before the Gonzalez fight. If he defeats Castillo on Saturday, what, where and against whom might fight No. 3 be?

“Something bigger, definitely,” he said. “… Something a lot bigger.”

Sanchez, 31, is a full-time fighter — except when he’s training other fighters.

“I’ve got my own team, Team Alacrancito,” he said. One of his boxers, he said, recently won a Silver Gloves amateur state title.

Veteran boxing trainer Steve Garcia (no relation to the MMA fighter of the same name) has helped Sanchez prepare for Saturday’s bout. Sanchez’s wife, Marlina, assists with strength and conditioning.

He sees a safe and productive future in the sport.

“I feel good, strong,” he said. “I actually feel even better than when I was younger.

“My body will let me know (when it’s time to leave). But now, I feel good.”

MORE NM TIES: After a highly decorated amateur career, Las Cruces’ Ariana Carrasco is scheduled to make her pro debut on Saturday’s card in El Paso. She’s matched against Tennielle Young (pro debut) of Columbus, Ohio.

Las Cruces flyweight D’Angelo Sanchez (4-1, three KOs) is scheduled to face Albuquerque’s Austin Lewis (1-1).