TUSCON, Ariz. -- It will be an all-Mexican rematch on March 11 when WBC junior lightweight champion Miguel Berchelt takes on former champ Francisco Vargas. The two first met back in early 2017 on HBO in a fight that rendered Vargas a bloodied mess and saw him get stopped in the 11th round to lose his title. Now the former champion will seek revenge against the heavy-hitting Berchelt on ESPN.
Above all else, Berchelt (35-1, 31 KOs) is a big puncher. He is a fan friendly fighter who always makes fun TV fights because he loves to throw heavy leather. Berchelt has a decent jab although his command of distance and his footwork leave a lot to be desired. Any flaws he has though he makes up for with power in both hands. Berchelt can do serious damage with his right hand and his left hook is as mean as they come and he will land it both upstairs and to the body with success. There is nothing special about Berchelt's defense and he tends to leave himself open for plenty of return fire but as long as he's landing punches of his own the exchanges usually favor him.
Berchelt won the WBC title he currently holds in his first fight against Vargas. He then defended it in a dominant performance against Takashi Miura and then three more times with two of those fights coming against quality veterans in Jonathan Victor Barros and Miguel Roman. Now Berchelt will look to make the fifth successful defense of his title and he will have to do it against the man he took it from. The only blemish of Berchelt's career came in 2014 when he was stopped in the first round by Luis Eduardo Florez but he's seemed to take that loss out on every opponent since, going 14-0 with 13 knockouts and he will look to make it 15 in a row and go 2-0 against Vargas.
Vargas (25-1-2, 18 KOs) might not have the top shelf power of Berchelt but he's certainly no slouch when it comes to trading heavy leather. He loves to come forward and actually has pretty quick hands when he's letting his combinations go. Vargas likes to jab his way in and follow that jab with a strong left hook and sustained body attack. While Vargas can put in good with with his right hand it's really the left hook that he does the most damage with. On defense Vargas is there to be hit and because of that he's been dropped, stopped, and often finds himself bloodied. Not many fighters can walk through hell like Vargas though and that was never more evident than when he was dropped by Miura and looked totally out on his feet before coming back to stop Miura later in the fight.
That fight against Miura drew comparisons between Vargas and the late, great, ultimate blood and guts warrior Arturo Gatti. It also made Vargas a fan favorite and was the type of performance that should earn a fighter free beer for life. That win gave Vargas the WBC junior lightweight title and he followed it up by taking on the extremely tough veteran Orlando Salido. Vargas and Salido fought to a draw although many pundits felt Vargas was lucky to get that outcome. That fight with Salido was another brutal battle and instead of taking an easy touch after back-to-back wars Vargas decided to defend his title against Berchelt. He was beaten badly in that fight but has fought twice since, going 2-0 with two knockouts. The second of those wins was especially satisfying because it came against Rod Salka, who entered the ring wearing Donald Trump inspired border wall trunks and was beaten pillar to post. Now Vargas will look to continue his winning ways and take back the title he lost in 2017.
Back-to-back-to-back fights against Miura, Salido, and Berchelt clearly took a lot out of Vargas but he did look good against the over-matched Salka. That fight was over a year ago though so he could show some ring rust early. Look for Vargas to try and stay on the outside and box early to avoid going toe-to-toe from the start. Vargas should try and pick his spots to engage on the inside while spending the majority of the fight using his jab and footwork to frustrate Berchelt. As for Berchelt, he should be very confident after dominating Vargas in their first fight. Expect him to try and pile on the power punches early in an effort to show Vargas that the first win wasn't a fluke. He needs to be careful that he doesn't just look for the one punch knockout because often when fighters do that they end up giving up rounds and that one big punch never comes.
PREDICTION: Boxers don't come much tougher or more exciting than Francisco Vargas. He's the type of fighter fans should adore and respect but fighters like him don't usually have very long careers. Miguel Berchelt is seven years younger than Vargas and hits harder. Vargas will look much better than he did in their first fight but eventually the youthful energy and power of Berchelt will be too much and he will stop Vargas once again in the 11th round.
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| Berchelt tagging Miguel Roman with a right hand |
Berchelt won the WBC title he currently holds in his first fight against Vargas. He then defended it in a dominant performance against Takashi Miura and then three more times with two of those fights coming against quality veterans in Jonathan Victor Barros and Miguel Roman. Now Berchelt will look to make the fifth successful defense of his title and he will have to do it against the man he took it from. The only blemish of Berchelt's career came in 2014 when he was stopped in the first round by Luis Eduardo Florez but he's seemed to take that loss out on every opponent since, going 14-0 with 13 knockouts and he will look to make it 15 in a row and go 2-0 against Vargas.
Vargas (25-1-2, 18 KOs) might not have the top shelf power of Berchelt but he's certainly no slouch when it comes to trading heavy leather. He loves to come forward and actually has pretty quick hands when he's letting his combinations go. Vargas likes to jab his way in and follow that jab with a strong left hook and sustained body attack. While Vargas can put in good with with his right hand it's really the left hook that he does the most damage with. On defense Vargas is there to be hit and because of that he's been dropped, stopped, and often finds himself bloodied. Not many fighters can walk through hell like Vargas though and that was never more evident than when he was dropped by Miura and looked totally out on his feet before coming back to stop Miura later in the fight.
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| Vargas catching Rod Salka with a right hand |
Back-to-back-to-back fights against Miura, Salido, and Berchelt clearly took a lot out of Vargas but he did look good against the over-matched Salka. That fight was over a year ago though so he could show some ring rust early. Look for Vargas to try and stay on the outside and box early to avoid going toe-to-toe from the start. Vargas should try and pick his spots to engage on the inside while spending the majority of the fight using his jab and footwork to frustrate Berchelt. As for Berchelt, he should be very confident after dominating Vargas in their first fight. Expect him to try and pile on the power punches early in an effort to show Vargas that the first win wasn't a fluke. He needs to be careful that he doesn't just look for the one punch knockout because often when fighters do that they end up giving up rounds and that one big punch never comes.
PREDICTION: Boxers don't come much tougher or more exciting than Francisco Vargas. He's the type of fighter fans should adore and respect but fighters like him don't usually have very long careers. Miguel Berchelt is seven years younger than Vargas and hits harder. Vargas will look much better than he did in their first fight but eventually the youthful energy and power of Berchelt will be too much and he will stop Vargas once again in the 11th round.
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