INDIO, Calif. -- Former junior lightweight titleholder Francisco Vargas (24-1-2, 17 KOs) continues his comeback trail on April 12 against Rod Salka (24-4, 4 KOs) on ESPN2. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds in the junior lightweight division where Vargas looks to regain a title.
While he had been in plenty of good fights previously, Vargas really burst onto the scene in 2015 when he and Takashi Miura went to war and turned in the Fight of the Year. Whenever Vargas fights you can expect blood, knockouts, and plenty of power punches. Vargas works out of the orthodox stance and reminds many of the late, great, ultimate blood and guts warrior, Arturo Gatti because he has skills but often gets drawn into a slugfest.
"El Bandido" as Vargas is known has a nice left hook but most of his power comes from the right hand. On the inside he loves to unleash uppercuts and he is very skilled at landing them. There is absolutely no quit in Vargas, even when quitting might be the smart thing to do. After his brutal fight with Miura he fought to a brutal draw against Orlando Salido and followed that up by coming back quickly to face Miguel Berchelt, the fight where he lost his title. Following a win in late 2017 Vargas seems to be back on track and should look good against the light hitting Salka.
Salka is best known for his brutal knockout loss against Danny Garcia in a catchweight fight at 142 pounds. While Salka plies his trade in the lightweight division he has fought as a junior welterweight before and moving up a down in weight is something he has become used to. Following his loss to Garcia in 2014, Salka has gone 5-0 with one knockout, and one of those wins came over Monty Meza Clay, arguably the best win of his career.
Salka is an orthodox fighter with almost no power on his punches. He likes to work behind a quick and busy jab and actually throws a nice left hook and straight right hand, they just happen to be void of any real power. On defense Salka relies on his feet and doesn't move his head enough but he always shows a lot of heart even if he's getting tagged with power punches.
This should be a good fight for Vargas who has been in numerous wars in the ring because he won't have to worry about an opponent with heavy hands. Vargas has the skills to box with Salka and the power and instinct to finish him off before the final bell. Salka will really need to work hard in this fight and make sure his jab and feet never stop moving. He needs to be careful to pick his spots to throw his power punches or attack the body because if he opens up too much he could find himself on the canvas.
PREDICTION: If any fighter deserves a break from being in brutal fights it's Francisco Vargas and he will get that break against Rod Salka. Salka will try to stick and move early but he won't last long in this one because Vargas is the superior talent and bigger puncher and he will stop Salka in the fifth round.
 |
| Vargas landing a right hand on Takashi Miura |
"El Bandido" as Vargas is known has a nice left hook but most of his power comes from the right hand. On the inside he loves to unleash uppercuts and he is very skilled at landing them. There is absolutely no quit in Vargas, even when quitting might be the smart thing to do. After his brutal fight with Miura he fought to a brutal draw against Orlando Salido and followed that up by coming back quickly to face Miguel Berchelt, the fight where he lost his title. Following a win in late 2017 Vargas seems to be back on track and should look good against the light hitting Salka.
Salka is best known for his brutal knockout loss against Danny Garcia in a catchweight fight at 142 pounds. While Salka plies his trade in the lightweight division he has fought as a junior welterweight before and moving up a down in weight is something he has become used to. Following his loss to Garcia in 2014, Salka has gone 5-0 with one knockout, and one of those wins came over Monty Meza Clay, arguably the best win of his career.
 |
| Salka working the body of an opponent |
This should be a good fight for Vargas who has been in numerous wars in the ring because he won't have to worry about an opponent with heavy hands. Vargas has the skills to box with Salka and the power and instinct to finish him off before the final bell. Salka will really need to work hard in this fight and make sure his jab and feet never stop moving. He needs to be careful to pick his spots to throw his power punches or attack the body because if he opens up too much he could find himself on the canvas.
PREDICTION: If any fighter deserves a break from being in brutal fights it's Francisco Vargas and he will get that break against Rod Salka. Salka will try to stick and move early but he won't last long in this one because Vargas is the superior talent and bigger puncher and he will stop Salka in the fifth round.
Comments
Post a Comment