In a heart and soul performance before a sold-out crowd at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) pulled the upset of a lifetime and was crowned the new after an 11th round stoppage of former two-time world champion Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-1-2, 17 KOs). The fight featured moments of heavy exchanges, which resulted in the reopening of a former cut above one of Vargas’s eyes during the ninth round.
Francisco Vargas
Vargas vs Berchelt: Final quotes for Saturday
WBC Super Featherweight Champion Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) and Mexican brawler and WBO Interim Super Featherweight champion Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (30-1, 27 KOs) today hosted the final press conference ahead of their 12-round sure-fire all-action fight set for Saturday, January 28 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California and televised live on the season premiere of HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Four candidates for Fight Of The Year so far, and we still have five months to go
In a sign of how good a year it has already been for boxing here in 2016, we have at least four absolutely cracking fights being looked at as candidates for winning this year’s FOTY distinction – and as great as these fights have been, we still have some potential thrillers to look forward to in the remaining five months of the year.
So far, fans and experts are agreed how the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter fight, the Orlando Salido-Francisco Vargas fight and the more recent Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz fight are all up there as genuine FOTY candidates. I would like to add to the list the terrific Jamie Conlan-Anthony Nelson fight.
Rumble, Young Men, Rumble: Vargas And Salido Go To War
This article isn’t quite what I had intended to write earlier in the week.
Initially, I had wanted to write about last night’s clash for the WBC 130lb championship that pitted the undefeated title-holder Francisco “Bandido” Vargas and the grizzled, battle-hardened Orlando “Siri” Salido. It was a match-up between two Mexican fighters with some measure of skill and an abundance of will; and I knew that all hell would break loose the moment one of them managed to land a good punch. It carried the promise of excitement and intensity, and it elicited a sense of anticipation in me that I hadn’t felt about a boxing match in quite some time.
Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido fight to 12-round draw
(Photo Credit: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy Promotions) LOS ANGELES (June 4, 2016) -WBC Super Featherweight World Champion Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) retained his title against former three-time world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (42-13-4, 30 KOs, 1 NC) after going the distance in a 12-round blood bath before a nearly sold-out, raucous crowd of 7,378 at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. and televised live on HBO® Boxing AfterDark.
Salido and Vargas exchanged heavy blows in the first round, with Salido getting the better of Vargas in a flurry of punches late in the round. Round four saw Vargas injured, with blood pouring from a cut on his eye obtained by a head butt. The war continued on and brought the crowd to their feet in round six, where Vargas held Salido against the ropes several times with a flurry of punches. The warriors didn’t stop and kept the pressure on each other until round 12, which saw Vargas and Salido laying into one another relentlessly until the bell.
Vargas-Salido post fight quotes
(Photo Credit: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy Promotions) StubHub Center, Carson, California
Francisco Vargas draw 12 Orlando Salido
“I feel really good about this decision,” said Vargas. “I knew coming in that I was going to be facing a very tough opponent; however I didn’t expect for him to head butt me and give me so many cuts to the face. Overall, I’m happy I was able to face this skilled warrior.”
Francisco Vargas vs. Orlando Salido: Potential FOTY at the StubHub
Two Mexican warriors clash this Saturday night live on HBO, from the StubHub Center, in Carson, CA. It’s a classic tale of young lion versus old lion matchup on paper hosted at the perfect venue. Will the fresher fighter in Vargas be the difference in the end? Or will Saildo’s battle tested experience guide him to the victory?
This can’t miss matchup between 130-pound titleholder Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido came very close to being called off all together, after Vargas tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
Video: Francisco Vargas: 129.6 lbs. Orlando Salido: 130 lbs.
Saturday’s HBO Boxing After Dark doubleheader telecast begins at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. Opening up the telecast from the StubHub Center in Carson, CA., is a 10 round featherweight matchup between Julian Ramirez and Abraham Lopez. The main event of the evening, a 12-round super featherweight title bout, features Francisco Vargas defending his crown against Orlando Salido in what is expected to be all out slugfest.