Magsayo vs Vargas, the WBC featherweight contest between the unbeaten Filipino champion, Mark Magsayo and the also unbeaten challenger, Rey Vargas took place in a PBC event in San Antonio, Texas live on Fite TV and Showtime.
Magsayo vs Vargas
Rey Vargas made Mark Magsayo miss frequently by using movement on the line to step back to evade his punches. He would then quickly rotate the angle of his positioning, so to ensure he could regain the centre of the ring and look for the straight right to land flush down the pipe.
Vargas then partially caught Magsayo with a speedily produced uppercut in the fourth with Magsayo attempting to counter with a left hook that flew well wide, again thanks to Vargas’ movement on the line.
The continual bouncing on the toes of Magsayo made it clear he was looking for a ferocious power shot that could halt his footwork of Vargas and make him a more stationary target to ensnare onto the end of his punches.
Magsayo vs Vargas
Throughout the Magsayo vs Vargas contest, Vargas flicked out the jab as a point-scoring punch to maintain a sufficient amount of output to edge rounds while Magsayo struggled to connect with his own offence. However, when he did with a short, sharp right hook, he secured a knockdown against Vargas.
After that breakthrough, Magsayo was beginning to land with greater accuracy, venom and frequency and the bout threatened to light into a war at times, but ultimately the feet and engine of Vargas didn’t wane, so he still managed to fight his fight for the most part.
Magsayo stalked and hunted for a decisive punch in the 12th while Vargas looked to use lateral movement to move away from the fire, giving a sense of how both men view the state of play from a scorecard perspective going into the final round. Their inferences would prove right, as Vargas won via split decision (115-112, 113-114, 115-112).
Magsayo vs Vargas
Stylistically, a future match-up with Josh Warrington could pose problems for the Leeds fan favourite, given the difficulties Warrington faced with the trickiness of Kid Galahad, as Vargas also won’t allow Warrington the space or time to marauder forward and work on the inside.
Alternatively, a heavier-handed man in Leigh Wood who has an uncanny knack to come on strong in the later rounds, especially the 12th, you get the sense that he would get to Vargas at some point in the contest.
You’d also hope that Vargas would expedite the gear shifts he takes to transition from defence to offence to land his jab or straight right, were he to take on either of the aforementioned Brits.
By Harry Duffy
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