With a month to go before a pivotal and perhaps career-defining fight, Jessie Vargas needed a trainer. And he needed one quickly.
Vargas had been working with Roy Jones Jr., but Jones’ busy schedule combined with Vargas’ need for his attention in the gym day in and day out made the situation untenable.
Vargas and Jones split, but Vargas still needed somebody to shepherd him through training camp and be the voice in his corner for his important fight against former welterweight and junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. (31-1-1, 12 KOs), 31, of Palm Springs, California, whom he meets for a vacant interim welterweight belt on Saturday night (9:45 ET/PT, HBO) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Vargas, who holds a junior welterweight belt but is moving back up the welterweight division, where he has had many fights, came up with the idea of Erik Morales, a future Hall of Famer, whom Vargas admires.
Morales, one of Mexico’s all-time great fighters, is a former four-division titleholder. He was involved in several epic fights during his heyday a decade ago — including legendary trilogies with Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao. Making The Rounds
Dan Rafael and Brian Campbell preview Timothy Bradley Jr.-Jessie Vargas. Watch
He and Vargas have known each other for years and after Vargas reached out to him, Morales accepted the gig. He immediately left his home in Tijuana, Mexico, to join Vargas at his Las Vegas training camp, where they say they connected right off the bat.
Vargas (26-0, 9 KOs), 26, of Las Vegas, said he is very pleased with how training camp went.
“He’s great on sharing fight plans and opponent analysis,” Vargas said on Wednesday. “He’s very intelligent. Who better to learn from than one of the greatest of his era?
“We know Bradley. We know what his style is all about. I’m very excited and I am the strongest I have ever been as a fighter. We were able to bond very quickly. This is a Jessie Vargas training camp in an Erik Morales style.”
Morales had his last fight in 2012, when he was knocked out in the fourth round challenging junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia in a rematch — a fight Morales was allowed to take part in despite having failed a drug test days before the bout.
Although Morales has only dabbled in training a few lesser-known fighters in Mexico, he grew up around the sport and learned from his father, who was his trainer. Morales’ vast ring experience should help him slide into the trainer role. If he trains anything like he boxed, Morales also should bring more toughness and physicality to Vargas, characteristics that have sometimes been missing from his performances.
“I’m very comfortable as a trainer now and in my trainer role,” Morales said. “It has been very easy to transition. The transition has been very easy from fighter to trainer.
“I assure you Vargas will win. We connected very well and very quickly. I adapted well to him. I know how to work with what he brings.”
