The month of May really could prove to be a big one for the sport of boxing … continue
In what seems like a can’t-miss action fight, Mexican warriors Miguel Berchelt and Francisco Vargas will clash … continue
Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (25-1-2, 18 KOs), former WBC Super Featherweight World Champion of Mexico City, Mexico, … continue
Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (24-1-2, 17 KOs), two-time Fight of the Year winner and former WBC Super … continue
Former WBC super featherweight champion Francisco ‘El Bandito’ Vargas (24-1-2, 17 KOs) will be taking a softer … continue
Saturday’s HBO Boxing After Dark® telecast begins at 10:20 p.m. ET/PT. Opening the telecast from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas is Francisco Vargas battling Stephen Smith in a 10-round super featherweight fight.
Leading up to the main event, Tevin Farmer takes on Kenichi Ogawa in a 12-round bout for the junior lightweight world title.
In a heart and soul performance before a sold-out crowd at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) pulled the upset of a lifetime and was crowned the new after an 11th round stoppage of former two-time world champion Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-1-2, 17 KOs). The fight featured moments of heavy exchanges, which resulted in the reopening of a former cut above one of Vargas’s eyes during the ninth round.
WBC Super Featherweight Champion Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) and Mexican brawler and WBO Interim Super Featherweight champion Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (30-1, 27 KOs) today hosted the final press conference ahead of their 12-round sure-fire all-action fight set for Saturday, January 28 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California and televised live on the season premiere of HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
In a sign of how good a year it has already been for boxing here in 2016, we have at least four absolutely cracking fights being looked at as candidates for winning this year’s FOTY distinction – and as great as these fights have been, we still have some potential thrillers to look forward to in the remaining five months of the year.
So far, fans and experts are agreed how the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter fight, the Orlando Salido-Francisco Vargas fight and the more recent Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz fight are all up there as genuine FOTY candidates. I would like to add to the list the terrific Jamie Conlan-Anthony Nelson fight.
This article isn’t quite what I had intended to write earlier in the week.
Initially, I had wanted to write about last night’s clash for the WBC 130lb championship that pitted the undefeated title-holder Francisco “Bandido” Vargas and the grizzled, battle-hardened Orlando “Siri” Salido. It was a match-up between two Mexican fighters with some measure of skill and an abundance of will; and I knew that all hell would break loose the moment one of them managed to land a good punch. It carried the promise of excitement and intensity, and it elicited a sense of anticipation in me that I hadn’t felt about a boxing match in quite some time.