MEXICO CITY -- Perhaps the fans have not seen many Jessie Vargas' fights in the main networks in the U.S., but once a protégé of Floyd Mayweather he has passed test after test before stepping into the ring in what should be the most important fight of his career against Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Born in California and now living in Las Vegas, Vargas was part of a Mexican Boxing team that participated in various international competitions. He has been trained by some boxing greats such as Roger Mayweather, Roy Jones Jr. and Erik Morales, before moving on to his present trainer Dewey Cooper.
Victory against Sadam Ali to win first welterweight title
Vargas knew that he was the underdog to win a vacant welterweight belt against Ali. As a matter of fact, being under contract with Top Rank, he had to fight in a Golden Boy Promotions event. In a very intense and aggressive fight, he knocked out Ali after nine rounds, taking over the belt that was vacated by Tim Bradley Jr. when he decided to face Pacquiao in what was supposed to be Pacquiao's retirement bout. It was a tremendous night for Vargas, who won at least seven of the nine rounds in a fight held at the DC Armory in Washington in March.
Junior welterweight farewell against Antonio DeMarco
In his last fight in the 140-pound division against DeMarco at the Cotai Arena in Macao, China, in November 2014, Vargas had to overcome the brave DeMarco, who had Freddie Roach in his corner. Vargas showed that he can handle southpaws as he was in the driver's seat en route to a a close but unanimous decision to retain his belt.
Win over Wale Omotoso
This turned out to be a battle between two undefeated fighters in March 2013. Against Omotoso, a solid welterweight who had been avoided by other fighters, Vargas showed enough stamina to overcome adverse conditions and was able to adjust his strategy to get what turned to be a fair unanimous decision, even though he was dropped in the second round in a card at the Home Depot Center (now StubHub) in Carson, California, headlined by Bradley's war against Ruslan Provodnikov.
Loss against Bradley
A defeat can be hardly thought of as one of the best exhibitions from a fighter. Nevertheless, the loss that Vargas suffered against Bradley in June 2015, in his first title opportunity, was a great learning experience. Even though he was beat, Vargas showed in the closing seconds of the fight that he had enough power to hurt Bardley, in what was somewhat of a controversial ending when the referee mistakenly ended the fight with 10 seconds left. After that night, Vargas became a better fighter.
Split decision win over Josesito Lopez
One of the fights Vargas had to win to become a fan favorite was one against Lopez in 2011. Even though Vargas had a few good wins then, his fight against Lopez was a remarkable one and he came out with a split decision win at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the same night that Mayweather knocked out Victor Ortiz. Also, this was his first time as part of a pay-per-view event. This got the attention of fans, who had closely kept an eye on his career ever since.