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Las Vegan Jessie Vargas debuts with Eddie Hearn, DAZN

Updated October 5, 2018 - 5:50 pm

Jessie Vargas received a phone call from a reporter seconds after he realized he was driving on the road with a flat tire.

The reporter asked if it would be better to talk at a later time. With no hesitation, Vargas said he wanted to do the interview at that moment.

Vargas had no concerns about the tire. He knew eventually the tire would be fixed and he’d be back on the road. No point in stressing.

The former two-division champion has that same type of assertiveness for his new venture with Eddie Hearn, an English promoter for Matchroom Boxing, and DAZN, the combat sports streaming service that recently launched in the United States.

“Eddie Hearn explained to me this new platform with DAZN,” said Vargas, a Las Vegas native. “I thought it through. His ideas and what he had for the future made sense. Everyone is trying to keep up. The world is changing. Everyone is trying to get on the new market, and I believe this is going to be it.”

Vargas’ gamble with Hearn and DAZN already is paying off. Vargas will headline an event Saturday in Chicago against Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme with the WBC silver welterweight belt on the line and a potential world title shot.

The $9.99 per month app is scheduled to stream fights at 3 p.m., with the main card starting at 6. The co-main event features heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller against Tomasz Adamek.

Vargas, 29, hopes he found a long-term home with Matchroom Boxing and DAZN. Vargas’ past two fights were with Premier Boxing Champions.

Before that, Vargas spent four years with Top Rank, and he started his professional career with Mayweather Promotions.

“Eddie Hearn is a smart promoter,” Vargas said. “He’s a smart man, he’s young and he’s successful, and he’s doing quite well in the game. We sat down for a certain amount of time and spoke about it. I thought it was a good decision to sign.”

Vargas is coming off a thrilling and controversial majority draw in April against Adrien Broner, a former four-division champion and one of boxing’s most notable fighters.

Many pundits viewed Vargas (28-2-1, 10 knockouts) as the winner. Vargas said a rematch with Broner is highly possible even with his move from the PBC and Showtime.

“The initial deal was to get Broner,” Vargas said. “Eddie Hearn explained the possibilities of that fight happening, and the possibilities are high, and it’s just another reason why I signed with him.

“Unfortunately, Broner didn’t want to take (the fight) this time around, but maybe we can give him an extra incentive on wanting to take it.”

Vargas, who has fought Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, said he’s not overlooking Dulorme (24-3, 16 KOs).

“He’s a top contender and a tough fighter, and he always fights hard,” Vargas said. “He never gives up, and that’s why we made this fight, and I know he’s going to bring the fight to me.”

More boxing: Follow all of our boxing coverage online at reviewjournal.com/boxing and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.

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