Photos: Sumio Yamada

WBC super featherweight world champion Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (36-1, 32 KOs) stopped Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (25-2-2, 18 KOs) in six brutal rounds on Saturday night before 4,424 at the Tucson Arena in Tucson, Arizona. As promised, two of the most exciting fighters in boxing went to war. Berchelt broke down Vargas with his vicious power shots and Vargas’ corner stopped the fight after round six. Berchelt won by eleventh round knockout in their first fight.

“I did what I said I was going to do in the ring,” Berchelt said afterward. “More importantly, I want to thank Francisco ‘Bandito’ Vargas. He’s a true Mexican warrior, and more than anything, let me tell you, he gave me my first opportunity at a world title. So, it was only fair that I would give him a shot to win his world title back. But his corner did the right thing in saving him from more punishment.”

“I want to prove that I’m the best 130-pounder in the world. In {two weeks}, it will be Jamel Herring taking on {WBO champion Masayuki} Ito. I want the winner of that fight because I don’t want to leave any doubt as to who the best super featherweight in the world is.”

Vargas stated, “I am going to speak with my team, and we’ll see what happens in the future.”

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