By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside
In a wild Texas showdown at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, TX, next door to the worldwide headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys, Jessie Vargas and Mikey Garcia went toe to toe in front of a packed house of 10,000 +.
Garcia came back from a slow start to win a hotly contested unanimous decision in an entertaining, high action battle and come away with the WBC Diamond Welterweight title.
Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs) fought for the 2nd time at welterweight, losing a one-sided affair to one of boxing’s pound for pound best in Errol Spence Jr. last March at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. While Vargas (29-3-2, 11 KOs) has spent a career mostly at 147 and was the bigger man entering the ring.
Vargas came out sharp from the opening bell with a strong jab and good work to the head and body of Garcia and it continued into 2nd picking up where he left off. Vargas took the knowledge he learned from his trainer Mike McCallum aka The Bodysnatcher known as a vicious body puncher during his hall of fame career, to work the body, and early on it paid off.
Garcia, however, finally got warmed up in the 3rd round as he exchanged big shots with Vargas and in the 4th, it turned into a firefight as Vargas had Garcia first in trouble in the corner, but Garcia quickly reversed course and started to land solid shots of his own.
The 5th round was all Garcia with Vargas’ face bloodied after several combinations followed by an overhand right that put Vargas on the canvas and looked like he may be finished. But Vargas showed the heart of a champion and got to his feet as the bell rang. From the 6th-8th round, Garcia was using Vargas as target practice. Garcia punctuated the end of round seven with a bang as he tried to finish off Vargas while referee Jon Schorle looked on closely for a possible stoppage.
Garcia seemed to take his foot off the gas during the 8th and 9th round and appeared to be looking for a big right hand to end the fight. With Garcia picking his spots, Vargas got a second wind and started working his jab and throwing the right hand again. In the 10th round, Vargas had his best round since early in the fight and was busier than Garcia. Garcia was back in control in the 11th and the 12th was back and forth action before Vargas landed a crushing right hand followed by the left just before the final bell.
The judges scored it 114-113, 116-111, 116-111 as Garcia earned the WBC Diamond Belt.
Mikey Garcia in the ring with Chris Mannix after the fight shared the following:
“Thanks to everyone that came out. Especially my family. I love you guys. I am very happy to be back and happy to be here. I had to make adjustments early on for his height and reach. As the fight went on, I started to hurt him, pick up timing and I think it work out well. I carried the weight better; I was solid when I had to. I felt the size difference, but my talent took over. I think he felt the power. Every so often I would hurt him again. I felt my speed and power was perfect. I think I have great options, ready to get back in with the best. I’m looking to get in with Manny Pacquiao or rematch with Errol Spence. I think it is very likely with Pacquiao.”
Jessie Vargas in the ring with Chris Mannix after the fight had this to say:
“I got a little confident when I hurt him in the 4th round. Mikey fought great fight, timing was precise, and I don’t take anything from him. I think it was an entertaining fight for Frisco. I think it was close. I want a rematch. I am very happy with my team; I just didn’t follow the game plan exactly. I am thankful to Eddie Hearn for giving me a chance. I think he’s a good fighter and has a nice pop to match up against some of the top welterweight. I thought it was closer than what the judges had.”
I get that Garcia doesn’t like to waste punches but he doesn’t do much in there. He got hit a lot and yes he pulled it out but his best days are way behind him. Errol took his confidence away and Mikey doesn’t beat any of the top guys of today. Pacquiao will end his career.
You sound a little dramatic here.
Mikey stepped up against a naturally bigger, longer, well schooled savage that was repeatedly beating up and stopping dudes Errols weight and he stayed in there for 12 rounds.
The only reason Mikey took this fight IMO was a business decision: to draw Pac-Man into the fight so Mikey can get paid.
We know he isn’t a true welter and would have problems with the top guys in the division.
Mikey has been in there with killers like Edwin Valero since 15 or 16 years old. He’s not a pussy and isn’t scared. I didn’t see him blink or look gun shy, I saw a dude who stayed in the pocket and calmly picked off shots waiting for openings and using his superb timing.
Hermano….who is this well schooled savage beating up and stopping dudes Errols weight….? The guy with 11ko’s in his 29 wins? Help me out here. Thanks for reiterating my point about the fact he will have problems with the top guys in the division.
I was referring to Errol.
He meant Errol is savage and was stopping everybody, and Mikey hung in there with Errol for 12 rounds. I see his point.
Also fighters that move from a division to another takes time to adjust and show their true potential, remember Erik Morales when he move up in weight, he looked bad in his first fight.
Morales was tall and could carry the weight better. Garcia is compact and did well with skinny tall dudes in lower weights but they get stronger and aren’t as easy to push around in higher weights. Think his best weight is 140 but like I’ve said before, he’s after that Pac fight and I don’t blame him.
Mikeys toughness is not whats in question here I said the same thing about the Spence fight especially afterwards when everybody tried to discredit Spences win over Mikey by saying he was smaller which they weren’t saying beforehand anyway its Mikeys toughness that’s not in question here but does he have the elite enough skills to match the p4p talent which is currently roaming the 147lb division I think Mikey should go back down to 140 and maybe get a Teflimo or Haney fight and especially a Loma fight seeing if he can get those names to move up to 140 from 135 but a fight against Pacman unfortunately will not go his way nor a fight against Crawford and there is NO chance of a rematch with Spence because simply why? now the ONLY fight at 147 would be against Danny Garcia that’s is
I think Mike has the skills to compete with elite fighters in his proper weight, to me he is small for welterweight, I also thought that he was too small for Spence.
For all of us keyboard warriors including myself that thought Garcia would have been beat in this fight, we were wrong.
I don’t know about you but I knew Mikey would beat Vargas he is a volume puncher with quick hands but no power but the fight was super close because of that and without the knockdown this fight would have been a draw that’s how close it was
I love Garcia but he’s gonna have a hard time wining a championship at 147. I mean Spence beat him way too easily! Garcia needs to dominate his natural division..
Mikey was great at lightweight but is average at welter. No speed or power and he goes straight in and straight out. No side to side movement. Reminds me of Tyson after he fired Kevin Rooney as his trainer and forgot everything he was taught.
Serious question: Why was the Mexican National Anthem played before this fight when both are Americans and “born” in the USA? I have seen this same thing happen many times, and only when one of the fighters family may have come from Mexico or another Hispanic country, but are %100 American…NO other group of people do or would do this, someone tell me why? Even Chocolatito praised his country of Nicaragua and then praised Mexico when his opponent was from the UK, he is not from Mexico, what is the reasoning behind this and why does it go unchallenged or anyone bring it up? Can you imagine say, someone named Mike Smith who was born in America demanding that “God Save The Queen” be played? Isn’t this telling us something very important?
Agree man. I’ve got no problem at all with people being proud of their heritage but if 2 gringos born and raised in Mexico wanted the US National anthem played there would be a riot and I’d understand why why they were pissed because it is very disrespectful.
It’s like Ruiz saying he’s Mexico’s first heavyweight champion. That dude has never lived there and was born here.
Shows that immigration and assimilation are 2 different things I guess. I’d never go to another country and disrespect the land I chose to live in like that. And guess what? You won’t see anyone of these people moving to the lands they so loudly profess to love. Why is that?
But remember: whitey can’t say anything about it because whitey is racist no matter what. The TV and Indoctrination, I mean Education, systems tell everyone that regularly.
It’s absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful…A while back I was watching a fight in Vegas, the main event was a black guy from the US and some guy from the UK, they played the American Anthem, the UK Anthem and THEN the Mexican Anthem, WTF for and guess what Anthem got booed? It’s silly, childish and should stop happening…
you are 100% correct and to add 99% of whitey don’t even know their own roots lol ask any one of them and I bet 99% they will reply im white I don’t know my ethnicity or deep roots hahahahahahaha
You’ve definitely touched on something here. If I was boxing in Mexico, I’d let everyone know that I planned to enter the ring to the Mexican National Anthem in homage to its great cultural heritage. Then I’d go full-scale Roddy Piper by playing “la cucaracha” on the way to the ring.
Go away Russian bot. Can’t believe fightnews.com doesn’t monitor these political posts that try to stir up racial tensions. Don’t fall for these posts y’all just ignore them.
So, telling the truth and wanting to correct something that IS wrong is racist in your view? Americans who are proud of their own country and want fairness are bad and those from other nations who use the US as a doormat are good? I notice you didn’t even attempt to answer my genuine question, why is this happening or even being allowed?
its very simple…………money is the name of the game and it rules because it sells
Garcia surprised me winning this but agree #arturo. He has no real future at welterweight
He smartly wants the big money Pac fight and I think he’s probably going to get it after winning this one.
Hermano……is he a true warrior who has been in there with killers since he was 15-16 years old….or is he a businessman?
A true warrior that smarty realizes he can’t do this forever, has put in a ton of work to get here, and wants to set up his kids and grandkids for life. That’s every normal mans dream and he deserves it after the sacrifices he’s made.
You ain’t paying his bills and you haven’t taken any shots over the years like he has. Let the man get his, it’s called PRIZEfighting and Manny represents the biggest prize. And come on man, it ain’t like he’s a pushover, it would be a great fight.
This was a title fight? How? For the WBC diamond belt? Isn’t that higher than the regular belt. So Mikey Garcia is the WBC Welterweight champ now? I’m confused
It was for the privilege of paying the WBC a sanctioning fee.
Although Mikey won the decision, he was too economical with his punches and Vargas outhustled him in many of the rounds. He was stalking Vargas but not throwing punches. I thought he missed a great opportunity by not attacking in the 6th round and let Vargas off the hook.
Garcia really has a hard time letting his hands go until he has the perfect shot, and that won’t work with Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao will overwhelm Mikey with movement and punches from all angles.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if the decision had been given to Vargas. Garcia was stalking but not punching while Vargas was landing body shots and occasional head shots. True, he was backing up most of the time, but I can’t give Mikey credit for moving forward and not letting his hands go.
If nothing else, Mikey showed enough power in his right hand to hurt true welterweights. However, his style is just not conducive to beating the best at welterweight. I was not impressed with his victory tonight. He really should stay at 140 lbs and not tackle the elite fighters at welter.
Well said…
I respect dudes with a defined identity; hence, the Mexican national anthem. As long as they also play the Star Spangled Banner and pay their taxes in the US, I am cool. What makes no sense to me is seeing Mexicans supporting Trump. Now that is worse. No self love. Sad.
I agree
Wow, the national anthem is and has always been played to honor the countries of the main event fighters, Michael Buffer even said so last night, then the Mexican national anthem was played followed by ours, yet NONE were from Mexico…I have seen the same thing happen before, but not from ANY other country…Both fighters are %100 American, born and raised here, it is not right…
I had it a draw. Garcia will not excel at welterweight.
Guys Mikey fought a bigger guy thats why he could not run over him like he did at lower weight classes. He even said he felt the weight difference. He needs about 2 more fights at 147 to really get comfortable. Imagine if Mikey did this to Vargas a guy that fought Pacquiao and Porter and went to distance with them means Mikey can compete against any welterweight. O mean Mikey almost finished Vargas something others have not come close to do. Spence could not even get Mikey out of there. Mikey will get comfortable with every fight and have more successful.
Bob, but that I read in this article, it looks like Vargas might’ve caught Mikey at the end.
Yes that was 2 nice shots by Vargas but it doesn’t change anything.
Yes that was 2 nice shots by Vargas but it doesn’t change anything
Manny Pacquiao might be salivating with the idea of fighting Mikey Garcia. Even at 40 and well past his primes, Garcia is the ideal opponent for him to look good. Garcia is small and stationary, not truly a heavy puncher and is very economical in his delivery.
I am sure Pacquiao might choose Mikey Garcia in a heartbeat if over the table are other names like Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Terence Crawford, Errol .Spence (assuming no accident) and even we can include Vergil Ortiz. So, I expect this fight and an easy UD win for this man that should be retired by now
Garcia should be embarrassed. This is like a racoon holding its own against a cougar. Jessie Vargas should feel very good about himself. Great job, Jessie for more than holding your own.
Well done to Mikey. Clearly his fights at welter are going to be very tough and I thought (going in) that he had a real chance of losing this one. I cannot see him beating the elite in the welterweight division but the paydays should be great.
Mikey Garcia look too one-dimensional for me. I was really surprised that he was able to get the knockdown, Jessie Vargas was dominating in the early rounds
Mikey is a very basic fighter….he will not do well against Top WWs
Everybody seems caught up in these divisions that were only added to create more “champions” and sanctioning fees. In the old days anything above lightweight 135 pounds was welterweight to 147 limit. Nobody ever said anything about being too small for these divisions.
It wont be pacquiao cause bob arum is setting up a pacquiao vs crawford fight sometime in June or July