Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Jessie Vargas (26-0, 9 KOs) scored a hard-earned unanimous decision over Antonio Demarco (31-4-1, 23 KOs) to successfully defend a version of the WBA Light Welterweight title at the at the Cotai Arena in Macao, China.
The fight was the first televised bout of a pay-per-view event presented by Top Rank Promotions and HBO Boxing.
Vargas, 25, originally from Los Angeles, California, worked from a hard jab in the early rounds before engaging DeMarco at close range by landing hard right hands and left hooks.
DeMarco, a 28-year-old southpaw from Los Mochis, Mexico, took a lot of punishment in those early rounds before gaining a bit of momentum in the seventh round, where he landed a series of uppercuts on an exhausted Vargas.
Roy Jones Jr., who was in Vargas’ corner for the fight, reminded Vargas to have fun in these later rounds, where Vargas needed to bite down and push hard in order to undoubtedly secure a unanimous decision victory.
Indeed, in rounds 11 and 12, Vargas began to showboat a bit with his right hand and worked from a distance. Vargas landed punches before slipping DeMarco’s, a tactic that would have saved him some punishment in the middle rounds.
All judges scored the bout 116-112 for Vargas.
