So who will televise Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas?

08/18/2016 James Slater

Manny Pacquiao’s November 5 comeback fight with reigning WBO welterweight champ Jessie Vargas, while a solid fight, has not caught fire with the majority of fight fans. Pac-Man, who will end the retirement from boxing he announced after his rubber-match win over Tim Bradley in April, is a fighter fans will always want to watch, but it was hoped he would face a bigger, more marquee name than Vargas in his return – Terence Crawford for example (a match-up that could still happen next year some time).

HBO, who televised many of Pac-Man’s greatest hits, will not be showing the November return bout, and promoter Bob Arum now has the job of finding a network that will carry the fight. Currently in The Philippines, Arum told RingTV.com that as soon as he returns to the states he will be working on finding the fight he himself says will be a great fight a home. It’s possible, Arum said, that the fight could end up being televised by either Showtime (HBO’s major rival of course), ESPN or a Turner network. It’s unclear how many fans will be eager to tune into the fight wherever it is shown.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas on November 5!

08/04/201608/03/2016 Rob Smith

Manny Pacquiao’s personal adviser Michael Koncz is reporting that they’ve made their decision about who they’ll be fighting next on November 5 and they’ve selected World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (27-1, 12 KOs). The fight will be televised on HBO pay-per-view. Koncz says the reason why he didn’t go with unbeaten Terence Crawford, a fighter that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is really high on, is because he didn’t like his boxing style of fighting. Koncz thinks that Crawford’s style of fighting isn’t a good one for Pacquiao.

Arum to meet with Pacquiao on August 9 to discuss Crawford/Vargas

08/01/2016 James Slater

Top Rank boss Bob Arum is set to fly out to Manila on August 9, to meet up with the soon to return to the ring Manny Pacquiao and discuss his planned November 5 return to action. According to The Manila Times, Arum says Pac-Man’s opponent will likely be either unbeaten, recently unified WBO/WBC 140-pound champion Terence Crawford or once-beaten reigning WBO welterweight ruler Jessie Vargas.

“I have already booked my flight to Manila, I’m looking forward to that meeting” Arum said. “So far, they [Crawford and Vargas] are the candidates. It’s going to be an absolute blockbuster of a fight, either of the two. Everybody is excited to see Manny return. His last fight against Timothy Bradley was great.”

Jessie Vargas wants Pacquiao

07/30/2016 James Slater

He may have lost out on a big unification meeting with IBF champ Kell Brook, but reigning WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas believes he is on the verge of a much bigger fight: one with the soon to return Manny Pacquiao. As fans have read, superstar Pacquiao is, according to his promoter Bob Arum, set to return to action in November, in Las Vegas. Vargas, 27-1(10) and beaten only by Pacquiao common opponent Tim Bradley, told media members in Vegas yesterday how he feels he is very close to getting the Nov. 5 date with Pac-Man.

“I am the WBO welterweight champion and he wants to return to fight for this belt,” Vargas said as quoted by The National. “The fight is still under negotiation and I can say that soon we will announce it, although I do not want to advance because in boxing everything can change every minute. Manny has never faced someone like me. I’m at my best, I have several advantages. I’m taller and faster than him. I’m a really smart fighter too. I not only want to face him but I want to beat him. Juan Manuel Marquez did it and I want to beat him too, mainly because at his best he gave many headaches to Mexico fighters.”

Jessie Vargas losing patience with Kell Brook fight, looking at fighting return with Tim Bradley instead

07/03/2016 James Slater

WBO welterweight ruler Jessie Vargas is losing patience with regards to his supposed upcoming (but still not officially announced) unification clash with IBF 147-pound champ Kell Brook. Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn has admitted to some “frustrations” in getting the fight finalised with a set date – due in large part to trying to make the GGG-Eubank Junior fight for around the same time period of late August/September – but Vargas is beginning to look elsewhere.

Kell Brook-Jessie Vargas unification fight in talking stage for summer

04/30/2016 James Slater

Britain’s Kell Brook holds the IBF welterweight title and America’s Jessie Vargas hold the WBO 147-pound title: together they could make up a great unification fight this summer. That’s the word according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, who reports that the respective promoters of Brook and Vargas, Eddie Hearn and Carl Moretti, met this week and spoke about the fight. The two champions are both eager for big fights and it seems the biggest obstacle in the way of making this IBF/WBO clash is the location.

Jessie Vargas wants Tim Bradley rematch, fights with Danny Garcia, Kell Brook

03/11/201603/10/2016 James Slater

Once-beaten Jesse Vargas, who won the vacant WBO welterweight title with an impressive 9th-round stoppage of Sadam Ali this past Saturday, has a number of fighters in mind for future showdowns, but when it comes to the one man Vargas, 27-1(10) really wants, there is one stand out choice: Tim Bradley, the man who gave Vargas his sole career defeat.

Vargas, in speaking with RingTV.com, said he wants to take over where he left off in his June 2015 fight with Bradley, when he had Bradley hurt and in trouble in the 12th and final round (before referee Pat Russell made an error and, thinking he heard the bell when in fact it was the last ten-seconds warning, jumped in and ended the fight around ten seconds early). Vargas, though, says he will “knock Bradley out in four-rounds next time.”

“King Kong” Ortiz Squashes “Tiger” Thompson; Jessie Vargas Scores a Career-Best Win Against Ali

03/06/201603/06/2016 Neil Dennis

The DC Armory was alive with action as Luis Ortiz continued his charge on the heavyweight division against rugged veteran Tony Thompson.

Early action saw local favorite Damon Allen (9-0, 4 KOs) dominate a game Angel Aispuro. He landed to the body and head at will, but Aispuro was defiant. At times, he gave Allen a right or left to the head to think about. However, Aispuro took a heap of punishment that culminated with a serious cut to his right ear. Referee Billy Johnson called it 2:17 into the sixth round.

Sadam Ali vs. Jessie Vargas highlight busy weekend on HBO and Showtime

03/04/2016 Chris Carlson

This weekend marks the second Saturday on the schedule were HBO and Showtime feature dueling fight cards. After a slow February, boxing fans get a plethora of fights this weekend. It would have been nice if either network could have placed one of these cards somewhere last month. Boxing fans are accustomed to taking one on the chin, so beggars can’t be choosy when it comes to a stacked schedule on March 5th.

Luis Ortiz and Tony Thompson talk March 5th fight

02/12/201602/11/2016 Golden Boy Promotions

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions: Welcome, everyone, to the Luis Ortiz, Tony Thompson and Sadam Ali and Jessie Vargas media conference call. These will be two exciting matchups taking place on March 5th at the DC Armory in Washington D.C.