Vargas gets new help in corner for WBO title bout

Numerous people have worked Jessie Vargas' corner over the years. And always lurking but never entering the ring with him has been Dewey Cooper.

Until now.

Cooper will be in the ring with the 27-year-old welterweight from Las Vegas when he faces Sadam Ali on March 5 in Washington, D.C., for the vacant World Boxing Organization welterweight title on an HBO-televised card. The fight will be the co-feature to the World Boxing Association interim heavyweight title fight between Luis Ortiz and Tony Thompson.

Cooper, a former heavyweight boxer from 2001 to 2012 and a kickboxer from 1999 to 2014, was hired to prepare Vargas after the fight was made on too late a notice for Erik Morales to train Vargas. Morales was in Vargas' corner in his most recent fight, when he lost to Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 27 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

"Dewey has known me since I was a kid," Vargas said Thursday on a conference call. "He knows what I do well, and he also knows the areas I can improve on. We're working great together so far, and I'm absolutely confident he'll have me at my best for March 5."

Cooper said working with Vargas (26-1, nine knockouts) is easy.

"He's an incredible student of the game," Cooper said. "I remember when he was 8 years old and first laced up a pair of gloves, and he wanted to fight like a pro. He's been great to train, and working one-on-one with him has me excited."

Vargas turned pro in 2008 with Roger Mayweather as his trainer. A couple of years later, when Mayweather's health became an issue, Vargas hired Robert Alcazar. They spent three years together. But Alcazar wanted Vargas to move to California, where his gym was located, and Vargas wanted to stay in Las Vegas.

Ismael Salas was hired in 2013, and Vargas won the WBA junior welterweight title in April 2014 with a unanimous decision over Khabib Allakhverdiev at the MGM Grand Garden.

Vargas then retained the title against Anton Novikov in August 2014. Shortly afterward, Salas left for England, and again, Vargas didn't want to leave Las Vegas.

He started working with Roy Jones Jr. That relationship didn't last more than a year because Jones still was fighting and also promoting and doing commentary for HBO. Vargas thought Jones didn't have the time to devote to training him.

So when Vargas fought Bradley, he had Morales in his corner.

"Something always seemed to be happening," Vargas said. "Some fighters are fortunate to have the same trainer throughout their career and have that comfort level. I guess I'm still looking for mine."

Vargas said Cooper has focused on the basics, and they've been working on power and speed.

"I'm more aggressive throwing my punches than I ever have been," Vargas said. "Dewey wants me to throw more punches, so we've been working on my combinations, getting them to be crisper and with more volume."

Cooper said the game plan for beating Ali (22-0, 13 KOs) is no secret.

"We want to control the pace and cut the ring off," he said. "Ali is a true boxer, so Jessie needs to make him stand and fight. If he does that, Jessie wins easily."

Vargas is confident he can stop Ali, who last fought April 25, winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Francisco Santana at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"He's never had to dig deep; he's never been in any wars," Vargas said. "He's not on my level. He doesn't have the experience I have. I've been in with world-class fighters.

"We know he's going to run, and we're going to hunt him down, and I plan to make Sadam Ali quit. I'm not going to leave it in the hands of the judges."

Ali, who was in line to fight Bradley for the title before he decided to fight Manny Pacquiao a third time and relinquished the WBO belt, said Vargas can do all the talking he wants.

"People say I run, but I box. I'm smart," Ali said. "(Vargas) can say whatever he wants. It's just more motivation for me."

— Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj