The upcoming fight between Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga – you know, the one that’s way over due and eight pounds past meaning anything – is titled simply“The Brawl”. What a perfect name, because that’s all it will be, a ruthless street fight. A skillful fight? Hell no. Meaningless? Perhaps. But entertaining? You can bet your house on it. Recently, Boxingtalk caught up with the two warriors in a pre-rumble teleconference.
Vargas is coming off back to back stoppage losses to “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Seeing as this will be his first time back in the ring since 2006, one must give him credit for not taking a tune-up fight. Say whatever you want about Vargas, but the fact of the matter is that he’s got balls. Never saying no to a true challenge, Vargas has been in the ring with the likes of Winky Wright, Ike Quartey, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, and Shane Mosley. Some he won, others he lost. No matter the result of the fight, one thing is always for sure, Vargas brings 120 percent every time he steps into the ring.
Unfortunately, the sport will likely lose him after this fight. “I don’t care if it’s for 100 million dollars, I will never fight again. It’s not about the money, it’s about the pride.” When asked why exactly he was leaving the sport at the still tender age of 29, Vargas replied “It’s just time to move on. I have many other things planned. I have my own promotional company starting up [oh yeah, join the club]. I want to end this on my own terms, not anyone else’s. I have accomplished everything I wanted to in this sport. I made my money; I’m a two time world champion [Author's note: it should be three-time champion, but for some extremely corrupt rulings by the WBC that stripped Javier Catillejo just before Vargas defeated him], and I’m the youngest junior middleweight champion in history.”
A while back, at the opening press conference for this fight, the always entertaining Mayorga began rambling some of his normal nonsense. Vargas did a good job of playing it off until once again, Mayorga got personal, talking smack about Vargas’ mother and wife… don’t you just love Mayorga? Vargas stood up, Mayorga backhanded him, and then Vargas grabbed Mayorga and delivered about four uppercuts to his face. Hopefully the fight will be just as good, or at least as exciting, as the press conference.
When asked about the actual fight with Mayorga, not the one at the press tour, Vargas seemed calm and confident. “I’m not just the bigger man,” said Vargas, “I’m also the better fighter as well. I’m gonna be intelligent and then I will stop him and finish him.”
Mayorga has fought most of his career at 147, with a few fights at 154. This fight will be at a catch weight of 162, for Vargas can no longer get down to 154. Maybe he should fight Jose Luis Castillo.
When asked about fighting at 162 for the first time, Mayorga was humble, not to mention loveable, as always. "First of all,” said Mayorga, “Vargas is out of his mind. He doesn't even imagine how much power I have. He doesn't even know that I'm the fighter that is going to hit him harder (than he’s ever been hit)."
Mayorga continued to ramble on, adding "I'm going to hit him as hard as I can. I'm going to knock out that fat guy from Mexico, which is Vargas. I'm in better shape than he is." When asked about Vargas referring to himself as the better fighter, Mayorga got a bit angry as well. "The world is just full of crazy people and stupid people. I'm going to show him who is stupid and who is the one that is going to beat him in the ring."
“He can’t handle this heat,” said Vargas. “I will knock him out and then I will ride into the sunset happily.” Will Vargas step away from the buffet for a few weeks? Will Mayorga light up a bogey on the walk to the ring? Who knows? One thing is for certain; if you are watching this fight for drama, thrill and excitement… you won’t be disappointed.
“The Brawl” will be broadcast on pay-per-view at 9pm ET. Also don’t miss the special countdown to Vargas – Mayorga on Showtime, Saturday August 25 at 1am ET.
