MACAU: American Jessie Vargas outpointed his Mexican rival Antonio DeMarco on Sunday to retain his World Boxing Association super lightweight title in a pulsating fight in Macau.
The champion from Las Vegas, with legendary fighter Roy Jones Jr making his debut as a trainer in his corner, got the better of his valiant opponent in a fight which exploded into life from the fifth round onwards.
Both men were heavily marked at the end of a toe-to-toe 12-round battle, in which Vargas consistently landed the better shots to take a unanimous decision 116-112 on all three judges’ scorecards.
DeMarco had many moments when he seemed to be getting on top, particularly in the ninth when he wobbled Vargas with a fierce straight left which sent him reeling back into DeMarco’s own corner.
But Vargas showed enough craft to step it back up when he needed to with combinations of his own, even trying a Jones Jr-style wind-up right “bolo punch” and the verdict was never in doubt.
It was the first big fight on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao- Chris Algieri clash and Pacman’s trainer Freddie Roach was in DeMarco’s corner
“DeMarco was just too patient,” Roach told reporters after the decision was announced. “Too many times he was just throwing one punch at a time. I begged him to get busy.”
Earlier Hong Kong super flyweight Rex Tso was given a tougher than expected workout over eight rounds against Espinos Sabu of Indonesia but came through on a unanimous decision.
And KK Ng — the up and coming “Macau Kid” — thrilled his home town fans by battling through a six-round super welterweight contest against Australia’s Stephen Attard to win on a unanimous decision despite suffering an ugly gash to his forehead in a clash of heads. AFP
