When last seen on boxing?s big stage, Francisco Vargas was the happiest man you will ever see sporting an eye that looked like it had gone through a meat grinder.
The Mexican warrior had just knocked out Japan?s Takashi Miura in the ninth round of the co-feature of the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez bout in Las Vegas last November. It was a spectacular display of toe-to-toe brutality that was eventually named the 2015 Fight of the Year by USA TODAY Boxing Junkie, the Boxing Writers Association and many other media outlets. Vargas took Miura?s WBC super featherweight belt in the process, his first major title, and remained undefeated.
The most spectacular aspect of the fight, at least from Vargas? standpoint, was that he was knocked to the canvas and should have been stopped in the fourth round. But in the long-held Mexican tradition of never giving up the good fight, Vargas summoned the inner strength to survive, kept going and eventually wore down Miura.
1-on-1 with Francisco Vargas
?I understand that the exterior of the battle was really intense because of how beat up I was, but emotionally at that moment I was ecstatic,? Vargas said via interpreter Cecilia Zuniga in a phone interview. ?I had so much joy because I had just won a world championship in probably one of the most spectacular fashions of the year. Emotionally I was on cloud nine.
?It took me about a month to recover from that in a physical sense. The eye was starting to heal and I was able to go back to the gym and start the training process again and start having the conversations about who I was going to fight next and started getting into that zone mentally.?
Five months later, as he was preparing for his first title defense against fellow Mexican Orlando Salido on June 4 at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., Vargas was forced to defend himself after testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol. He claimed it came from tainted meat he ate in his hometown of Mexico City. The California State Athletic Commission believed him and did not cancel the fight, instead giving Vargas time to retest. He says he has been tested at least five times since then by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and all have come back clean.
Vargas had requested the testing by VADA because Salido had tested positive for Nebido (a synthetic testosterone), which overturned his victory against Robert Guerrero in 2006.
?I was very surprised when it came back positive,? Vargas said. ?I was aware the meat in Mexico was an issue in the past, but I never thought it would happen to me. After that happened, I was very willing to take as many tests as were needed to prove that I am a clean fighter.?
Vargas remained calm through all the mudslinging, ?because I knew I was a clean fighter,? he said. ?Yes, people talked, and it did make me uncomfortable, but I had to push that out of my mind and focus on continuing to train and not let this be a distraction for the fight.?
So now, days before the 31-year-old Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) and the 35-year-old Salido (43-13-3, 30 KOs) finally meet in the ring ( HBO Boxing After Dark, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET). Vargas knows what to expect from the wily veteran, who is coming off a draw and a loss to Roman Martinez last year.
1-on-1 with boxer Orlando Salido
?Me and my team are very well aware of what type of fighter Salido is,? Vargas said. ?We know he has the experience and that he sometimes leads with his head (Salido broke Mikey Garcia?s nose with an accidental head butt in 2013). And there?s been times where he?s done some not-so-great things in the ring.
?But we?re really well-prepared for that. We?ve taken into account everything and we will respond to anything Salido brings into the ring. The years of experience Salido has has definitely provided us with a lot to be able to know the kind of fighter he is and to study him effectively. So I won?t be surprised in the ring and I will counter effectively.?
Will this be another knock-down, drag-out, fight-of-the-year candidate? Both fighters believe it could be.
?I?m a warrior and Vargas is a warrior,? Salido said during a recent media workout. ?The ones who will win will be the fans. When you get into boxing, you are mentally prepared to get knocked down. Every time I?ve been knocked down, I just get back up again and fight. I like to prove everyone wrong and that?s what I plan to do when I go in and fight this young, undefeated fighter.?
Vargas, nicknamed ?El Bandido,? is prepared for more toe-to-toe warfare, too.
?I?m ready to give another incredible fight to the fans. I have always said I want to fight the best, and Salido is one of the best,? he said. ?The only thing on my mind is to win this fight on Saturday. It?s up to the fans to decide if I?m No. 1. I?m a technical fighter but it will come down to my intelligence. This will be a very difficult fight.?
