LAS VEGAS, USA ? “Never underestimate the hunger of a young lion champion!?
Dewey Cooper, trainer of WBO welterweight champ Jessie Vargas, repeated the warning several times to assembled reporters at a conference room at Wynn Las Vegas, as if his exhortation could move back the betting lines that have his fighter as a 5-1 underdog to retain his title.
Despite having his title belt at stake, Vargas felt like a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain. In Manny Pacquiao, he sees all of the celebrity and fortune he?s always wanted but has yet to attain.
?Superstardom. That?s what I?ve been wanting, what I’ve dreamed of since I was 8 years old. That was my goal, and in order to be in that position you have to beat a fighter that is respected by the entire world,? says Vargas (27-1, 10 knockouts), who will make the first defense of his title on Saturday, November 5 (Sunday Manila time).
?Everybody knows who Manny Pacquiao is. After I beat Manny Pacquiao, they will know who Jessie Vargas is.?
Pacquiao, 10 years older than Vargas at 37, has been where Vargas is now. The Filipino senator was unknown when he arrived on American shores and knocked out Lehlohonolo Ledwaba to win the junior featherweight title to get his foot in the door back in 2001, and in 2003 when he entered the pound-for-pound list with a domination of Marco Antonio Barrera, and in 2008 when he became a global figure by sending Oscar de la Hoya into retirement with a one-sided beatdown.
He also thinks Vargas’ dreams are just that.
?I understand what he feels right now because I?ve been there in that situation,? said Pacquiao before putting his thumb on the ambitious champion. ?Sometimes we think too much, more than our skills.?
?In other words, the reach exceeds the grasp,? chimed in Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters.
Vargas has just one loss on his record, a unanimous points defeat to Timothy Bradley Jr in 2015 marred by a controversial ending, and isn’t fond of being asked whether or not he’s ready for this moment.
“It just gets me aggressive, wanting to hit Manny Pacquiao that day, at that moment, when those questions are asked,” said Vargas.
