Francisco Vargas retains WBC title after majority draw with Orlando Salido
Sunday 5 June 2016 12:16, UK
Francisco Vargas retained his WBC super-featherweight title in California on Saturday night after his bruising encounter with Orlando Salido was scored by the ringside judges as a majority draw.
Vargas was making the first defence of the title he won last November after beating Takashi Miura in a contest widely regarded by boxing pundits as the 2015 fight of the year.
And the 31-year-old's eagerly-anticipated clash with fellow Mexican Salido could be an early 2016 fight of the year contender after the pair went toe-to-toe for 12 rounds at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Vargas and three-time former world champion Salido slugged it out until the final bell, exchanging more than 2,000 punches in the bout, which was scored by two judges as a 114-114 draw, and 115-113 in Vargas' favour by the other.
The result meant Vargas kept his WBC strap and after the bout, the undefeated fighter insisted he was happy with the judges' verdict.
"I think it was a great fight and a fight that the fans liked. I feel really good about this decision," Vargas said.
"I knew coming in that I was going to be facing a very tough opponent. We never give up. I'm very happy. This is what they wanted. I'm happy I was able to face this skilled warrior. I'm looking for more challenges."
Salido acknowledged the pulsating encounter was a close one but admitted his disappointment with the final outcome.
"It was a close margin but I felt I won," he said. "It was a tough fight. We fought like Mexicans in the ring, but I thought I won."
The undercard saw Abraham Lopez maintain his unbeaten record after claiming unanimous points win over Julian Ramirez.
Meanwhile, Canada-based Russian light-heavyweight Artur Beterbiev made a victorious return after shoulder surgery against Argentina's Ezequiel Maderna in Montreal.
The 31-year-old extended his perfect record to 10 wins from 10 fights after Maderna's corner threw in the towel following a heavy knockdown in the fourth round. The Argentinian had been floored twice by Beterbiev in the third.
