Francisco Vargas (Mexican boxer)

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Vargas and the second or maternal family name is Peláez.

Francisco Javier Vargas Peláez (born December 25, 1984 in Mexico City)[1] is a Mexican professional boxer and current WBC Super Featherweight World Champion[2] also known for his nickname "El Bandido." As an amateur, Vargas qualified for the 2008 Olympics in the lightweight and represented Mexico.

Amateur career

At the 2006 Central American Games, Vargas lost to eventual winner Yordenis Ugás 7:14. At the 2007 Pan American Games, where he tried to compete at featherweight, he lost again to David Souza.

At the first qualifier, Vargas was edged out by Juan Cuellar. At the second qualifier, the 23-year-old beat Franz Mamani and the Canadian southpaw Ibrahim Kamal. Vargas was then outpointed by Brazilian Éverton Lopes 6:11, but shut out Alexis Folleco 5:0 to qualify as the third Mexican boxer after Arturo Santos Reyes and Óscar Valdez.

Professional career

A professional since 2010, Vargas has won 18 in a row with two draws in his career against Byron Gonzalez in his fourth fight and most recently against the former three-time world champion Orlando Salido on June 4 in front of 7,378 fans at the StubHub Center in Carson on HBO Boxing After Dark.[3]

In March 2012, Vargas signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions.[4]

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Golden Boy Promotions family,” said Vargas. “I know they have the resources to lead me to championship level and expand my fan base throughout Mexico and the United States. I look forward to making them proud.”

“It’s an honor to add another former Olympian to the Golden Boy Promotions roster,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “Boxing will never grow if we don’t keep bringing in new blood and I’m confident Francisco will be an important player in the sport for many years to come.”

On March 31, 2012, Vargas made his debut under the Golden Boy banner with a third round TKO of Carlos Martinez, kicking off a busy year that saw him add six more wins to his stellar record.[5]

In January 2013, Vargas faced what was expected to be the toughest test of his young career in veteran Ira Terry, but he made short work of Terry, knocking him out in just two rounds, and in May he stopped Cristian Arrazola in three rounds.[6]

Vargas stepped up to the plate once again on August 9, 2013 when he met fellow unbeaten Brandon Bennett for the NABF and WBO Intercontinental Super Featherweight titles, and he won both, nearly shutting Bennett out over 10 rounds.[7]

On December 13, 2013, Vargas won all 10 rounds in decisioning recent world title challenger Jerry Belmontes,[8] and on March 8, he made his first appearance of 2014 an impressive one, as he defeated Puerto Rico’s Abner Cotto via unanimous decision.[9]

From there, Vargas fought on the “Honor & Glory: Canelo vs. Lara” PPV undercard and delivered a thrilling KO victory over Puerto Rican legend Juan Manuel Lopez.[9] He followed that up with another knockout, this time in Mexico against Genaro Camargo.[6] In 2015, Vargas headlined his first HBO event against Australian prospect Will Tomlinson in San Antonio on HBO Latino®, Vargas made it a hat trick with an eighth round TKO.[7]

Serving as the co-main event to the highly anticipated Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Álvarez event on November 21, 2015, Takashi Miura vs. Francisco Vargas stole the show and received unanimous Fight of the Year nods from Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, The Bleacher Report, USA TODAY’s Boxing Junkie, The Sweet Science and Boxing Scene.[4] The action packed fight featured knockdowns, great performances and a lot of heart from two of boxing’s’ most respected warriors; where Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas was able to claim the WBC Super Featherweight World Championship via ninth-round technical knockdown over Takashi Miura after suffering a knockdown during the fourth round. ESPN.com called the fight “the most dramatic comeback since the late Diego Corrales used a legendary 10th-round rally to stop Jose Luis Castillo and unify lightweight titles in 2005.[3]”

References

External links

Preceded by
Takashi Miura		 WBC Super Featherweight Champion
November 21, 2015 – present 		Incumbent
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