In the main event of a thrilling Matchroom Boxing USA fight card live on DAZN and in front of 11,019 passionate fans at the Dallas Cowboys headquarters, Mikey Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs) outlasted Jessie Vargas (29-3-2, 11 KOs) in an action-packed welterweight showdown on Saturday night.
Vargas effectively used his jab throughout the fight, but Garcia ultimately wore him down with brutal right hands and even sent Vargas to the canvas in the fifth round. The four-division world champion earned a unanimous decision victory to prove his doubters wrong as he continues his pursuit to dominate the welterweight ranks.
Earlier in the evening, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (49-2, 41 KOs) stamped himself once again as the king of the super flyweight division with a technical knockout victory over Khalid Yafai (26-1, 15 KOs) to become the new WBA World Super Flyweight Titlist. Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (16-1, 12 KOs) retained his WBC World Flyweight Title after a 12-round war with Jay Harris (17-1, 9 KOs) who hit the canvas once due to a brutal body shot in the tenth round, and Joseph Parker (27-2, 21 KOs) stopped Shawndell Winters (13-3, 12 KOs) in the fifth-round of their heavyweight bout.
Mikey Garcia
“I feel very happy to be back and excited to be here. I had to make adjustments to his reach and natural size. As the fight went on I started to hurt him, closing the gap, finding my rhythm, and timing. In the end it worked out very well.
“I carried the weight a little better. I felt better. I had my feet when I had to. He’s a big man. I could feel the size difference, but my talent overcame that. I started to hurt him as the rounds went by. I landed a right hand where he went down. I hurt him again and got my rhythm, speed and power. It was perfect and did it against a bigger guy.
“I think I’m ready to get back in with the best. I want Manny Pacquiao or a rematch with Errol Spence. I’m better at this weight class. This is a great option to continue at 147.”
Jessie Vargas
“I got a little confident. In the fourth I thought I hurt Mikey. I lightened up but Mikey fought a great fight. I give him credit and don’t take anything from it. It was a learning experience for me, entertaining fight for the fans in Frisco! I’d like a rematch, but it think it was close. The knockdown made a difference. I was overconfident with his power, he has a good pop. I didn’t follow guidelines exactly but that’s on me. I’m a little down cause I didn’t get the victory.
“No complaints, we will talk to my team. We will see what’s next, but I would like to a rematch. I think he’s a good fight, he performed well today. I underestimated his power. He could matchup with the top welterweights. I fought my heart out, felt like it was closer than the judges scored it. Like I said, I’d like a rematch.”