Mayorga Defeats Vargas
Fight Results from November 23 at the Staples Center
Two knockdowns, in the first and eleventh rounds, made the difference as Ricardo Mayorga (34) won the fight with a majority decision. The scores were 113-113, 114-112, and 115-111.
Mayorga 28-6-1 (22) knocked an off-balance Vargas 26-5 (22) to the canvas with a flurry punctuated by a left hook in the opening round. Vargas wasn't seriously hurt and came back to win the second round on the Suite 101 scorecards.
The knockdown in round eleven came when Vargas pulled straight back after throwing a combination on the inside and got caught by a lunging Mayorga right. Vargas immediately jumped to his feet as the referee counted.
The Nicaraguan, known as "El Matador," showed more poise than expected and kept his punches short and his defense tight throughout the night. While Vargas showed head movement and was easily the slower fighter, he countered effectively and often dipped to the left of Mayorga's right hands and landed his own left hooks.
Timing is the answer to speed and Vargas spent most of the middle rounds trying to time Mayorga's occasional free-swinging assaults. He hurt Mayorga with consistent bodywork and though he occasionally missed lead rights, he deftly followed them with left hooks to the body and head.
Mayorga pressed forward with combinations and occasionally won rounds by simply being busier than his opponent. His work rate nearly paid off big in the seventh round when he bounced a long right off of Vargas' chin and Vargas hopped back a couple steps, obviously buzzed.
Unable to take advantage of a wobbled Vargas, Mayorga himself clinched at the end of the round, possibly showing the effects of Vargas' body punching. Realizing that the fight may have been getting away from him, Mayorga got on his toes in the eighth and boxed well, employing lateral movement and a flicking jab.
The fighters traded rounds through most of the fight with most ringside observers believing that victory was up for grabs going in to the championship rounds. Vargas pressed forward, landed well, and had just finished a scoring combination when Mayorga caught him at the end of a right hand and sent him stumbling backward to the canvas.
Having lost two points to knockdowns, Vargas stalked Mayorga, hoping to score a knockdown of his own, but it wasn't to be as Mayorga, sensing that he had the fight won, maintained distance and kept Vargas away from opportunity.
Earlier on the card, a clash of Jr. Middleweights ended in a knockout as Roman Karmazin stunned Alejandro Garcia with a left hook to the body at 1:24 of the third round. The 34-year-old Karmazin's record rose to 39-2-2 (23) while Garcia's fell to 25-3 (24).
In a near upset IBF Welterweight Champion, Kermit Cintron defeated the surprisingly game Jesse Feliciano in the tenth round with a dizzying combination. Though Feliciano never fell to the canvas, the referee waved off the fight when the challenger seemed unable to return fire.
Cintron collapsed to the canvas in pain, claiming that he had injured his right hand in the first round. With the victory, Cintron (29-1, 26 KOs) is assured of a fight with WBO champion, Paul Williams in February 2008. Feliciano's record dropped to 15-6-3 (9).
