Jessie Vargas, touted as a potential future Amir Khan opponent, outpointed Josesito Lopez in Las Vegas after surviving a tough test.
Mayweather prospect given a hard night
Jessie Vargas, touted as a potential future opponent for Britain's Amir Khan, survived a tough test to outpoint Josesito Lopez in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Vargas (now 17-0) is promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr, and 'Money' says Khan needs to beat him to earn a future fight with the man himself.
On this evidence Vargas doesn't look ready for that sort of class, after struggling to beat Lopez (29-4) on a controversial split decision to boos from the MGM Grand crowd.
Vargas came out fast, taking the first two rounds behind a sharp stiff jab and classy combinations.
But in the third the tide started to turn as Vargas ignored the advice of his corner, allowing Lopez to push him back on the ropes. Josesito in particular landed a cracking right that appeared to hurt Vargas.
Vargas continued to look good when boxing on the move, showing great accuracy in his punching. But when he allowed Lopez to take the initiative, things looked very different.
Lopez gradually clawed back the early ground he'd lost, and had Vargas in big trouble in an eighth round in which Jessie also had a point deducted for a low blow. A big right late in the session saw Vargas end the session on unsteady legs.
Composure
Just when it looked like Lopez was about to pull off the upset, Vargas showed real heart to regain his composure in the ninth and win the session with some smart boxing and movement.
And he dominated the first two minutes of the final session before Lopez finally put in a big finish. It wasn't enough though as Vargas prevailed 96-93 and 95-94 on two cards but dropped the other 95-94.
