Junior featherweight world titlist Rey Vargas has a scar that stretches across one of the knuckles on his left hand to remind him of one of the reasons he has not fought for nine months.
Last May, during the third or fourth round of a defense of his 122-pound belt against Azat Hovhannisyan, Vargas injured the knuckle.
“I had to fight with one hand and do what I could do. I don’t want to give any excuses,” Vargas told ESPN through a translator.
Vargas is the kind of humble boxer who somehow thought he was making an excuse about a fine performance that he ultimately won by lopsided unanimous decision despite essentially being a one-handed boxer during the fight.
He had surgery to repair the injury which he described as having had something in his knuckle tear before the knuckle fill with liquid.
It took time to heal but Vargas said he was healthy enough to return to the ring late last year but ended up having to wait to make his return, which will take place on Saturday (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET) in the co-feature to Freddie Roach-trained junior lightweight world titlist Alberto Machado (21-0, 17 KOs), 28, of Puerto Rico, making his third defense against Andrew Cancio (19-4-2, 14 KOs), 30, a Blythe, California, native.
“We want a unification fight by the end of the year. Also I would like a fight with (featherweight world titlist) Leo Santa Cruz before he moves up to 130 pounds. I would move up to 126 pounds to get a fight with Leo Santa Cruz.”
Rey Vargas
Vargas (32-0, 22 KOs), 28, of Mexico, will make his fourth title defense against the little-known Franklin Manzanilla (18-4, 17 KOs), 30, of Venezuela, hoping to win and propel himself into a bigger fight, because he knows his three defenses did come against top opponents in Hovhannisyan, Oscar Negrete and Ronny Rios, all fights Vargas handily won by decision.
“My knuckle is 100 percent and thank God I am recovered and ready to return to the ring,” Vargas said. “It was a nine-month layoff but I feel good and enthused and have the desire to get back in the ring.”
Vargas wanted to make clear that despite reports that his own promoter, Golden Boy circulated, he did not have a shoulder injury or come down with pneumonia during his time away from the ring.
“Just the knuckle injury,” he said.
Golden Boy, which co-promotes Vargas with Mexico’s Promociones del Pueblo, planned to put Vargas on the Dec. 15 undercard of a Canelo Alvarez fight when the plan was to do a pay-per-view with HBO. But then, with HBO leaving the boxing business, Alvarez and Golden Boy moved to the steaming service DAZN and Alvarez was matched with secondary super middleweight titlist Rocky Fielding.
When Golden Boy made the deal with Fielding promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, one of the components included Hearn getting undercard slots that he used for junior lightweight world titlist Tevin Farmer and unified women’s lightweight titlist Katie Taylor.
“There was a chance to put him on the Canelo card when it was going to be a pay-per-view but when it switched over to DAZN we didn’t have enough spots because Eddie got a couple of slots on the card,” Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez said. “He’s been wanting to fight under Canelo because he would get amazing exposure un Mexico. You’re like an instant star so it was important to him to fight in December but when we made the deal with Eddie, he put on Tevin Farmer and Katie Taylor there was no room for Vargas on the card unfortunately.”
Vargas said he was disappointed but happy to finally be back in action.
“I was upset because I think it was going to be a great night to have two Mexican champions on the same card,” he said. “I was upset about what happened because it was a big opportunity. I needed about six months of recuperation for my knuckle. I was ready to fight in December.”
He will take on Manzanilla, who has won two fights in a row and is coming off what is so far his signature victory — a fourth-round knockout of former junior featherweight world titlist Julio Ceja on May 26 in Mexico City.
“Manzanilla is a strong fighter and he comes forward but he has some deficiencies in his technique,” Vargas said.
Vargas has gone the distance in all three of his title defenses as well as in the fight in which he won the vacant belt against Gavin McDonnell in England in 2017. He thinks it is about time he gets back to knocking out opponents.
“I want to finish the fight by knockout,” he said. “I want this fight to end before the scorecards and give a great fight for the fans. Manzanilla does have technical deficiencies but he’s not a dumb fighter, but I want to win by knockout.”
Gomez said a knockout would serve Vargas well.
“He really is one of the best fighters in the world. He’s really talented but he’s not a big puncher,” Gomez said. “He’s a volume puncher though, all action, and the guy can take a punch. But I think a knockout would do wonders for his appeal here in the U.S.”
Manzanilla has been stopped once, in 2012, in his four defeats.
Even more than a knockout, Vargas would like to have a unification fight rather than continuing to face lesser known opposition.
“We want a unification fight by the end of the year,” said Vargas, who is trained by the legendary Hall of Famer Nacho Beristain. “Also I would like a fight with (featherweight world titlist) Leo Santa Cruz before he moves up to 130 pounds. I would move up to 126 pounds to get a fight with Leo Santa Cruz.”
A fight with Santa Cruz is highly unlikely given what other major fights Santa Cruz could potentially have on his Premier Boxing Champions side of the street, but a unification bout for Vargas is not out of the question.
Titleholders Daniel Roman (26-2-1, 10 KOs) and TJ Doheny (21-0, 15 KOs) are both with Hearn and fight on DAZN. They are likely going to meet to unify their two belts in April but the winner against Vargas at the end of the year could be possible given that they fight on the same platform and that Golden Boy and Hearn are easily able do business with each other.
“We’re going to pursue the fight with the winner,” Gomez said. “Vargas wants to unify and he’s willing to fight the top guys in the division and then he’ll consider going to 126 pounds. He wants to prove he’s one of the best fighters at 122 and 126.”
Said Vargas: “I am focused on the fight I have I front of me on Saturday, but I do believe there will be a unification fight soon in my future.”