Top Rank’s welterweight contender, Jessie Vargas (26-1, 9ko), is still pushing for a rematch with WBO champion and promotional stablemate, Tim Bradley, insisting his former foe isn’t prepared to do so as he knows he’d end up getting knocked out!
Vargas, who is sitting out the rest of the year after a clash with Golden Boy’s red-hot up and comer, Sadam Ali, fell through for December, interrupted ‘Desert Storm’ at the post fight presser after Saturday’s victory over Brandon Rios, prompting Bradley to remark, ‘Here we go again!’
Bradley defeated Vargas back in June, only to see the fight end in controversial circumstances when referee Pat Russell called time on the 12th round action 10 seconds early, crucially at a moment when Vargas had Bradley buzzed and holding on in an attempt to regroup.
Aside from that moment however, it was a fight in which Bradley was for the most part in complete control, and a prior rematch appeal from Vargas to the WBO, who sanctioned the interim title fight, was later rejected by the governing body.
With Bradley having been upgraded to full champion status since that time, and with promoter Bob Arum facing a potentially challenging search to secure some of the biggest divisional fights for him – down to those concerned (Porter, Thurman, Garcia, Khan et.al) being with Al Haymon – Vargas senses an opportunity for an in-house TR fight most fans have little desire to see again, based largely on the fact Bradley said immediately after the first fight that he’d do it all over again.
“It’s fu***** bull****,” Vargas said to ESNews. “He just says, ‘Oh, I let my wife handle my business,’ but why did he agree to a rematch live on HBO? He has nothing to say.”
“He gave his word and look at him. He can’t say ‘Oh, I’ll give you the rematch’ now, ’cause he knows what would happen. I’d knock him out. I knock him out in a rematch. I’d finish what I started and he knows it. It’s why he stays quiet like a bit**!
“Why did he open his mouth on national television on HBO and say he’d give me a rematch? I thought he was a man of his word. He’s a coward.”
Twitter @undilutedpoison
