LOS ANGELES ? He knows he still has so much to prove. Yet Jessie Vargas wants the media and fans to know he?s awfully tired of being disrespected every time he steps in the ring.
After all, Vargas is the WBO welterweight champion. He?s 27-1 with 10 KOs. His only loss as a professional came against former two-division champion Timothy Bradley in a fight in which Vargas thought he won but was cheated out of 10 seconds at the end of the fight ? the referee?s mistake ? that might have been the difference between losing and being the first to stop Bradley, who was on wobbly legs at the time.
But that?s ancient history. Vargas? mind is squarely on Manny Pacquiao these days. On Thursday, during a press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel to announce their Nov. 5 pay-per-view fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Vargas let his emotions spill out a bit as he tried to defend himself against the naysayers who believe he has little to no chance against a 37-year-old Filipino senator who is coming out of a short-lived retirement to challenge Vargas for the belt he once held.
?A lot of you guys, the people that know me, do wish me luck, but in the back of your mind you?re thinking, ?I don?t think he can do it.? But I?m here to tell you I can,? Vargas told reporters. ?And just as I?ve always proved you wrong with several other undefeated fighters you thought were either going to beat me or knock me out, now I?m still on top. I?m still world champion.
?On Nov. 5, I?m going to prove you wrong again and show you that I have the talent and I am the best in the division. Talk is cheap. I?ll show it with my actions, with my fighting style and I have the right team behind me. You?re going to be surprised with my performance that night, that?s for sure.?
Vargas, who was 6 years old when Pacquiao began his pro career, has much more to inspire him to defeat Pacquiao than just proving the critics wrong. Growing up, he said, two of his boxing heroes were Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.
Jessie Vargas celebrates when he thought he had defeated Timothy Bradley after referee Pat Russell stopped their fight 10 seconds early. But the referee made a mistake, and Vargas lost by decision. (Photo by Mark J. Terrill, AP)
Morales and Barrera are among the greatest warriors in Mexican history, who themselves engaged in one of the great trilogies of modern boxing history. But against Pacquiao, who was then nicknamed ?The Mexicutioner? for his ability to dominate Mexican boxers, they struggled mightily. Pacquiao defeated each fighter twice, Morales both times by KO, and Barrera once by KO.
Vargas, 27, has never forgotten how Pacquiao destroyed his heroes. Morales even trained Vargas for a short time.
?I was hurt when I saw how Pacquiao beat them, particularly in how the third fight with Morales went down (third-round KO),? the Los Angeles-born fighter said Thursday. ?I told myself I would sometime get in the ring and beat Pacquiao. It burns inside of me to win this fight. I will beat Pacquiao to avenge those fights he had with Erik and Marco.?
Pacquiao, 37, said he chose to fight Vargas because he is the welterweight champion who holds the belt Pacquiao once owned.
?This is a big challenge for me because, first, I?m a challenger and he?s the champion,? Pacquiao said Thursday. ?And this is my first fight since I was elected as a senator, so it?s an honor for me to bring another record in my career.?
Pacquiao?s trainer, Freddie Roach, said Vargas was picked because he was an easier opponent for Pacquiao?s first fight back from retirement than Terence Crawford.
The disrespect Vargas has dealt with his entire career has only made him stronger, he says, but doesn?t make it any easier to take.
He recalled winning the national Golden Gloves championship in Las Vegas when he was 12, and the local newspaper interviewed and ran a big story on a guy who lost in the semifinals, giving Vargas a few lines at the end of the story. Those are the type of slights that cut deep for Vargas.
?I?m the only champion that hasn?t got the proper credit,? he said. ?I busted my ass to be in this position. I was picked to lose so many times. I was brought up as an opponent. I was a journeyman, you could say, and I?m only 27 years old.?
Vargas said he never gets credit but thankfully was raised in a family that instilled in him to ?be thankful for what you have and continue to push forward.? Still, he struggles with the lack of respect.
?It?s sad the way the world works,? he said. ?It?s wrong, man, it?s just wrong.
?I?ve had promoters say, ?let?s put him up against this guy, and if he beats Jessie, we?ll sign him?. I came up the hard route. I fought my ass off throughout my entire career. I don?t get easy fights. It made me into a tough fighter mentally and physically. None of the negative comments I see online really faze me. It just makes me stronger.?
Vargas has gone through several trainers in his career. But his latest, Dewey Cooper, who in their first fight together led Vargas to his most impressive display of power to date, a TKO victory in March over previously undefeated ex-Olympian Sadam Ali, says it?s time to pass the torch.
?He?s way younger, has hand speed, power and wants to beat Pacquiao the same way Pacquiao took apart Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera,? Cooper said. ?Pacquiao accomplished so much in the sport of boxing. You have to applaud him for that. But he is way older than Jessie, who has the desire and inner spirit to win.
?No one ever picks Jessie to win but it doesn?t bother us. Look at where we are today.?
