Matchup against Bradley thrills Vargas, places manager in uncomfortable spot
Junior welterweight champion Jessie Vargas has been looking for a fight for months and finally landed one. But his manager is not crazy about it.
Vargas, the undefeated World Boxing Association “regular” champion, will meet former welterweight champ Timothy Bradley on June 27 at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The fight is expected to be announced by Top Rank this week.
It’s an announcement Cameron Dunkin isn’t looking forward to. Dunkin manages Vargas, a 25-year-old from Las Vegas, and managed Bradley until two years ago.
“It’s not a fight I wanted,” Dunkin said. “But I didn’t have much choice. Top Rank came to me and offered us Bradley, and Jessie said he wanted the fight, so we took the fight.”
Vargas will be moving up in weight — from 140 pounds to 147 — to fight Bradley. But he has fought at 147 before, so he isn’t concerned.
“I want to be in the big fights; I want to fight the big names,” Vargas said Friday at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. “Bradley’s a warrior. He comes to fight.
“I told Cameron I want to fight (Manny) Pacquiao. But that’s probably not going to happen. So I want to fight the guy who beat Pacquiao, and that’s Bradley.”
Vargas (26-0, nine knockouts) successfully defended his title Nov. 23 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Antonio DeMarco in Macau.
Bradley (31-1-1, 12 KOs) could be a big problem. He has fought some of boxing’s toughest welterweights, including Pacquiao twice, Juan Manuel Marquez once and, in his most recent fight, a battle with Diego Chaves on Dec. 13 at The Cosmopolitan that ended in a 12-round draw.
“It’s a good test for me,” Bradley said Friday while working the truTV telecast at The Cosmopolitan. “He’s undefeated. He’s a world champion. And I never take anyone lightly.”
Vargas and Bradley shook hands and met briefly with reporters Friday. As he was leaving, Bradley said to Vargas: “You better train hard. We need to put on a great show for the fans.”
■ DIEGO’S NEXT FIGHT — While Vargas will headline the June 27 card, another Las Vegan, Diego Magdaleno, could be on the undercard.
Magdaleno, who has moved up from super featherweight to lightweight, was scheduled to fight April 18 in Arlington, Texas. But his opponent, Luis Solis, missed weight by 10 pounds and the fight was canceled.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life. We were all shocked,” said Magdaleno, who now lives in Palm Springs, Calif., and has become good friends with Bradley, with whom he shares the same trainer, Joel Diaz.
“The sad thing was we were ready. We were on point. I was looking forward to showing the things coach and I have been working on.”
Magdaleno (27-1, 11 KOs) said he doesn’t know whom he will fight. But he said he’ll reboot mentally and get back in the gym.
“As long as I’m training, I’m happy,” he said.
■ WILDER READY — World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, who was in Las Vegas for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight Saturday, said he won’t let success go to his head.
“I’m still the same guy,” said Wilder, who won the belt Jan. 17 with a unanimous decision over Bermane Stiverne at the MGM Grand Garden. “I’m always going to be respectful, and I know it’s important I carry myself the way a champion should.”
Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs) will make his first title defense against an opponent to be determined June 13 in Birmingham, Ala., about 60 miles from his hometown of Tuscaloosa.
Wilder said he would welcome a unification title fight against Wladimir Klitschko, but he’s not losing sleep over it.
“If it comes, it comes,” he said. “I’m not worried about it.”
Wilder said he hopes to return to Las Vegas for a title defense.
“I’ll always have great memories of Vegas,” he said. “This is where I won the title. I was able to put my name on it that I fought here at the MGM.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
