Rey Vargas became a two-division world champion as he won a hotly contested 12-round split decision over Mark Magsayo in a battle of undefeated fighters at The Alamodome in San Antonio.
It was a very close fight with each guy having success at different part of the fights.
In round seven, Vargas was cut over the left eye from an accidental headbutt. In round nine, Magsayo was able to send Vargas to the canvas as he landed a hard counter right hand. Magsayo was not able to capitalize and he let Vargas off the hook.
Vargas landed 196 of 667 punches; Magsayo was 132 of 451.
Vargas, 125.5 lbs of Otumbia, MEX won by scores 115-112 twice with Magsayo winning a card 114-113. Vargas is now 36-0. Magsayo, 125.5 lbs of The Philippines is 24-1.
“I’m at a loss of words,” said an emotional Vargas post-fight. “I worked hard for this. I want to thank God, my family, my trainer Nacho Beristain. The first title I won, I enjoyed it greatly, but this one is special. This win is for me.”
“It’s his today, no matter what, I’ll come back stronger, I’m disappointed but I did my best,” said Magsayo.
“I just kept moving forward and shrugging him off no matter what was happening,” said Vargas. “All that mattered for me was coming out with the victory in the end.”
“It wasn’t a power punch that got me,” said Vargas. “It was more of something that happened because of how I was moving. We were able to recover and come back strong.”
“When I had him down, the punch was straight, he did his job in the ring, running,” said Magsayo. “I applied the pressure and did what we trained for in the gym, but he was taller and he’s the man today.”
“It was a good, enjoyable fight,” said Vargas. “We felt comfortable throughout. I was sound technically. We were just going round-by-round and we got the result we expected.”
“I will rest and watch the fight and I’m going to train to fight again and will correct my mistakes for the next time,” said Magsayo. “Thanks to all my fans in the Philippines. I did my best and will come back stronger.”
“Now I want the unification bout,” said Vargas. “I want to fight Leo Santa Cruz. We’ve already talked about it with my team and I’m ready.”
Figueroa Stops Castro in 6
Former super bantamweight champion, Brandon Figueroa moved up to featherweight and stopped Carlos Castro in a scheduled 12-round bout.
In round three, Figueroa dropped Castro with a hard flurry on the ropes. That flurry includes a hard left to the body and head. In round six, Figueroa turned Castro around and landed a huge barrage of punches on the ropes and the fight was stopped at 2:11.
Figueroa, 126 lbs of Weslaco, TX is 24-1-1 with 18 knockouts. Castro, 124.5 lbs of Fullerton, CA is 27-2.
“I know Carlos Casto is a crafty fighter,” said Figueroa. “I had to be patient. I knew how to put the pressure on him, after the barrage of punches, I got tired and had to step back. I knew he was hurt. and I had him, and I had to put more pressure on him. I caught him clean with a good looping left hand and I had him, I just put punches together and I dropped him.”
“Carlos Castro has a lot of heart, he’s a proven fighter in the ring and I knew it would be hard to get him out of there,” said Figueroa. “I hurt him, I was waiting for that shot to the body, once I caught him clean, I knew he was hurt. I put my punches together again.”
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” said Figueroa. “I know there’s a lot of work ahead of me, especially if I fight the winner of the main event. I have to study my fight and get back to the gym.”
Martin Stops Marinez in 10
Lightweight Frank Martin remained undefeated with a 10th round stoppage over Jackson Marinez.
In round nine, Martin dropped Marinez from a hard straight left. In round 10, Martin backed Marinez up and landed a booming right that made Marinez sit on the ropes and the fight was stopped at 30 seconds.
Martin, 137.5 lbs of Dallas, TX is 16-0 with 12 knockouts. Marinez, 138 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 19-3.
“I was ready to go the distance whether I got the knockout or not,” said Martin, who’s stablemate and promoter, unified welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr. watched his victory ringside and later told Jim Gray of SHOWTIME that he expects to face WBO titleholder Terence Crawford in a blockbuster welterweight undisputed championship fight later this year. “Me and Derrick James worked hard in the gym. It was just a matter of me being patient and not being anxious.”
“I felt great,” said Mariñez. “I was very comfortable inside the ring. It would absolutely have been a different result had I had more than eight days to prepare.”
“I’m just an accurate puncher,” said Martin. “We had to really stay on the outside of the hook, I was doubling the two and trying to come inside with the hook.”
“The knockdown in the ninth changed the tone of the fight,” said Mariñez. “Maybe I could have been more careful. These things happen in boxing, and you just gotta be ready to roll with the punches. He had power, and so did I.”
“I was on him once I had him hurt, I was hungry, he was in deep waters so I had to get him out of there,” said Martin. “I’m right there with those top guys at lightweight, sit me at the table with them, whenever, I’m ready. I’m going to sit down with my team and hopefully get something big. At the end of the day we’ve won them all.”
Ramon Cardenas won an 10-round unanimous decision over Mitchell Banquez in a bantamweight bout
Cardenas, 118 lbs of San Antonio, TX won by scores of 97-93 twice and 96-94 and is now is 21-1. Borquez, 117.5 lbs of Caracas, VEN is 20-2.
Rashidi Ellis remained undefeated by stopping late-replacement Jose Murrafo in a scheduled eight-round junior middleweight fight.
In round one, Murrafo walked into a right from Ellis that put Murrafo on the canvas. Ellis then landed a vicious combination that was punctuated by a left to the jaw that put Murrafo to deck. A follow-up left hook and right hand forced a referee stoppage.
Ellis, 153.5 lbs of Lynn, MA is 24-0 with 15 knockouts. Murrafo, 146.25 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 13-11-2.
