A world championship is up for grabs over the weekend as the former undefeated world titleholder Rey Vargas seeks to get the WBC featherweight belt from the unconquered world title holder Mark Magasayo in the Magsayo vs. Vargas match. The match will happen on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at the Alamodome, San Antonio, for the WBC featherweight belt. It is going to be a very interesting match. It will be the first title defense of Magsayo for his championship belt after taking a heavy beating from Gary Russell Jr. at the beginning of the year. But he got the upset victory that he wanted against the long-reigning champ. The newly crowned featherweight title holder Mark Magsayo will look to have a great first defense against Mexico's unbeaten former titleholder. The Magsayo vs. Vargas main event match will have a couple of the top boxers from Mexico and the Philippines, boxing-rich countries. Also, the former title holder Brandon Figueroa will return to the ring against Carlos Castro in the Alamodome in San Antonio for the WBC featherweight title eliminator match. There will also be a lightweight opener match between Jackson Marinez and Frank Martin.
You may be one of the fans seeking to see the Magsayo vs. Vargas match. This article will tell you everything you need to know about the upcoming match and give you the odds from the bookmakers.
The oddsmakers from Vegas and the boxing fans are predicting an intense and competitive match between Vargas and Magsayo. The former is presently the favorite to win the match with odds of nearly -140. The current champ Magsayo's odds are sitting at more than +100. The edge given to Vargas is mostly because of his long professional career and the information that he had recently held the WBC super-bantamweight championship belt for under four years. But it is also vital to remember that Magsayo has also never lost a professional boxing match in his career, just like Vargas. The Magsayo vs. Vargas match is going to be an exciting fight for everyone involved. The current champ came into the mind of a lot of boxing fans after he got a come-from-behind knockout victory against Julio Ceja on the undercard of the match between Yordenis Ugas and Manny Pacquiao. The young boxer followed that up with an upset victory against Russell by utilizing hard body shots and constant pressure to get his first major world championship.
Magsayo's coach Freddie Roach said, "They have the same work ethic. They just love to train hard," he revealed when asked to reveal similarities and differences between Pacquiao and Magsayo: "I'd say he's 20% better than he was two months ago. He's never satisfied. Mark is still learning and gaining world championship experience. I'd say experience may be the biggest difference right now. Mark knows he's in tough."
Many fans are questioning whether Mark Magasyo has world-beating talent or does he just possess great luck. The hard-hitting pupil of Manny Pacquiao has seen a huge majority-decision win against the long-reigning WBC title holder Gary Russell Jr. at the start of the year that gave him his first title reign. The win surprised the entire world of boxing. Now, they must show that the win was not because of luck alone. But the boxer has a lot to do before he can be seen as one of the best in the world. Freddie Roach is the long-time mentor of Manny Pacquiao. He loves to train with Magsayo because of his great work ethic. Roach gets reminded of Manny when he looks at Magsayo. The young boxer has a lot of power. He has shown a lot of times in his professional career over the past decade. But he has some space to grow more in his boxing abilities. This was quite evident in the match before Russell's showdown. He got a knockout win against the tactical Julio Ceja last year. At the stoppage, Magsayo was trailing his rival on all the scorecards of the boxers.
Magsayo said, "If that shoulder is not hurt, maybe there's a knockout there. My counter was very effective in that fight. … My counter and my speed, and my power were very effective. It's hard to catch him when your opponent is running and is a good fighter. A lot of people doubt my talent, my skills," he said. "… They say, 'You beat the one-handed guy.' That's what people say. Doubters are always there. I don't care. … (But) I want to prove that I'm a good, best fighter in this division. That's why I work hard every time in the gym. I'm ready for this coming fight. I hope Rey Vargas doesn't run too much, so we can give a good fight to the people. I'm not worried about Vargas. I've already beat the best in the division, so my confidence is very high heading into this fight. This is very special for me. I watched Manny Pacquiao fight Marco Antonio Barrera in San Antonio at the Alamodome. That was the day that I decided to start training in the gym. I'm so thankful to have this fight –a dream come true– happen here in San Antonio."
"This is a very important fight for me. I already beat Russell, but I just want to keep proving myself. We're both going to go there very confident in ourselves, which will make it a great fight. I've worked on many different things with Freddie Roach to ensure that we're ready for whatever Vargas brings. If he wants to come toe-to-toe, as he said, then I'm ready to end this fight with a knockout. I guarantee this will be a big night for me. We're ready to show who the best in the division is. He's never fought a guy like me. You're going to see that on Saturday night."
Vargas made the last successful defense of his championship belt nearly three years ago. But Vargas does not like being called a former title holder. This is because no one has managed to defeat the boxer and take his championship title in the ring. He was out of action for a couple of years because of his broken leg during a training run. The boxer made his return by climbing up a weight class. He picked up the same pace he had left off in the previous weight class and used his sharp power shots and long jabs. He easily defeated Leonardo Baez by pointing many shots toward his body. The win made him the prime contender to face the victor of the match between Magsayo and Russell, which the former won.
Vargas said, "I have a right to fight for the world title. I'm not a former champion. This is champion vs. champion, period. I definitely feel I'm where I'm supposed to be right now. I do think I've been able to work to improve based on my previous fight. Magsayo is a tougher opponent than my previous one. At the same time … I'm tougher than him. I know what I'm capable of when I step into the ring. Russell is a good fighter. He's sneaky, more technical in a way. Magsayo is more direct. He will stand there and exchange punches with you. That's better for me than the alternative. And it's why I think this will be an explosive, entertaining fight. We're both powerful, both not afraid to stand in there and deliver punches. Be ready for fireworks. If you want to exchange blows, I'm more than happy to do that. I see it as a compliment that he's added a lot of people to his team. He's taking me seriously, but I think it's an advantage because I feel he's worried. We certainly have great trainers in each corner. Freddie is a great trainer, and I've had the pleasure of sharing the ring against him before."
"In the end, it will be just Mark and me inside the ring. We're ready to put on a show. I know that someone like Freddie Roach will think they know our strategy. I have an ace up my sleeve, and when that happens, I'm tearing his head off. His confidence may be in the clouds, but the fall will hurt. I showcased my fighting skill in November, coming off a long layoff. There was no ring rust then, and there will be no ring rust now. I was prepared to fight Gary Russell Jr., but now we're giving Magsayo a chance. I'm fully capable and ready to go. Magsayo says that I haven't faced anyone like him before. Still, in reality, he has actually never faced anyone like me. Magsayo may want to exchange blows badly because that may be the only thing he knows how to do. He doesn't know how to fight otherwise. We will dominate him and take the belt. The higher the confidence is of my opponent, the harder the fall is."
Nationality: Filipino
Born: Jun 22, 1995
Height: 5-6 1/2
Reach: 67.5 inches
Total fights: 24
Record: 24-0 with 16 wins via knockout
Nationality: Mexican
Born: Nov. 25, 1990
Height: 5-10 1/2
Reach: 70.5 inches
Total fights: 35
Record: 35-0 with 22 wins via knockout
The Magsayo vs. Vargas match is going to be intense because both of the boxers are pressure fighters. But there are many questions regarding Vargas's power at his current weight. He could not defeat Baez. Maybe it was because he wanted to get the big fight experience after a layoff of a couple of years. It may also be that the power does not translate when going up a weight class. The best decision here would be betting on Magsayo for a decision win. He has had more experience in the present weight division and is currently more active. He is also the heavier puncher in the division and has shown that when the going gets very tough, he starts to fight in his elements.