Tale of two Jessies: Las Vegas boxers Vargas, Magdaleno fight on undercard
It’s a big night for two unbeaten boxers from Las Vegas.
Jessie Vargas and Jessie Magdaleno will be in action on the undercard of tonight’s WBO welterweight title fight between champion Timothy Bradley Jr. and Ruslan Provodnikov at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Magdaleno (13-0, nine knockouts) faces veteran Carlos Fulgencio (19-9-1, 12 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight bout. Vargas (21-0, nine KOs) meets Wale Omotoso (23-0, 19 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight bout.
“This camp’s been great,” Magdaleno said. “I’m real excited about this opportunity. People are starting to get to know me, and this fight will give me more exposure.”
Vargas said he has done a good job maintaining his weight during his training camp and that he’s coming into the fight in better shape than usual.
“By controlling my weight from the start, instead of feeling weaker, I’ve gotten stronger,” Vargas said. “Me and (trainer) Robert (Alcazar) have been together almost two years, and we’ve really got a great relationship. He knows me, and I know him, and this may have been my best camp.”
Vargas said he’s not fixated on fighting for a world title at this point.
“Sure, that’s my ultimate goal, but I’m worried about this fight,” he said. “Wale’s a very good fighter, but I’ve been in with great fighters. For me, this is just another step in my career. Every fight is about moving forward and not taking any backward steps.”
For Magdaleno, whose fights rarely go the distance, it might not be a bad thing to get in a few rounds against Fulgencio. But he never puts a timetable on his workload.
“If I have a chance to end it early, that’s what I’m going to do,” Magdaleno said. “But every fight is different, so you have to be ready for whatever comes. I always prepare as if it’s going to go the distance.”
His trainer, Pat Barry, said the focus for the fight was making sure Magdaleno was in the best shape possible.
“We focused on Jesse’s conditioning,” Barry said. “But generally speaking, we’re letting Jesse be Jesse. He adapts very well in the ring, so as long as he gets his work done in the gym, he’s ready for anything that happens.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
