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Jessie Vargas Looking To Make Another Statement in the Welterweight Division and Put Everyone On Notice

By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez

The Welterweight division is one of the hottest divisions right now. Matter of fact the division has always been one of the top divisions through the course of history. Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, and Errol Spence Jr are the top players of the division. In June, we will have the introduction of Terrance Crawford when he faces with Australian Jeff Horn. Also Manny Pacquiao is still hanging in there and will be fighting Lucas Matthysse in July. There is one fighter that believes he belongs in the mix as well and could very well be the dark horse of the division. That is Jessie Vargas.

Jessie Vargas, 28-2, 10 KO’s, from Las Vegas, Nevada started off as an outstanding amateur. He had an amateur record of 120-20 and was a 2 time U.S. Junior National Champion. He started his professional career in 2008 and began his run in the Junior Welterweight division. Even though he was undefeated in the division and eventually became a world champion, he didn’t get the attention that he was looking for. Vargas does not have many knockouts to his record and as a result, a lot of his fights went to distance. He was also involved in a few close fights and questionable wins. Vargas needed the change and decided to move up in the Welterweight division.

For his Welterweight debut in 2015, Vargas challenged Timothy Bradley. After a slow start, Vargas picked up the pace in the late rounds and almost knocked out Bradley but it was too late. Bradley did enough to win on points and Vargas suffered his 1st loss of his career. Even though Vargas suffered his first setback of his career, he came back with a huge win. He won the vacant WBO Welterweight title by stopping Sadam Ali in 2016 and he became a champion in a 2nd weight division. Vargas needed this win and stepped it up when he had to. His title reign didn’t last long as he lost to Manny Pacquiao later that year by unanimous decision. As we know, there is no shame in losing to Pacquiao. Vargas took almost a year off and came back with a unanimous decision against Aaron Herrera in December of 2017. As he looks forward to prove he is one of the best in the Welterweight division, he will first need to get rid of Adrien “The Problem” Broner this weekend. Vargas got this shot when the original opponent Omar Figueroa Jr had to pull out due to a shoulder injury. Vargas will have to make the most of this opportunity and shine once again like he did in the Ali fight. A loss against Broner will set him back once again.

Vargas will have to make the most of this fight and I expect he will win a decision. Vargas uses a good jab and has a great right hand. Overall Vargas is the bigger guy. However, I believe he should pursue a knockout to secure a victory. As we all know the overrated Broner has received gift decisions in his career. If Vargas wins by knockout that will be the statement Vargas is looking for, as Broner has not been stopped yet in his career. On a personal level, Vargas is a likeable guy and is very humble. It is hard to root against a fighter like that.

Tune in this weekend for a great fight and see if Vargas can make the Welterweight division take notice.

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