On Tuesday February 10, 2015 the founder and president of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya hosted a press conference for the boxing media, promoting his company’s upcoming bout between Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (21-0 15 KOs) vs. “Wild” Will Tomlinson (23-1-1 13 KOs).
The fight will be televised on HBO Latino on March 12, 2015 live from the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas.
The call started with the Golden Boy speaking on the fight. “We have a terrific main event. We are extremely excited also to have Frankie Gomez, who is a fight away from going up against any of the top 10 fighters at 140 pounds. These fights are going to be action packed,” said De La Hoya.
De La Hoya then introduced the “Aussie” Will Tomlinson first. Tomlinson opened up with a little message in Spanish.
“Saludos a todos los Mexicanos! I’m really excited about this fight and thank Oscar De La Hoya and Francisco Vargas for giving me this opportunity. Obviously, I’m training extremely hard for the fight of my life. I really believe this is going to be a coming out fight for me.”
Tomlinson was very adamant about wanting to gain recognition here in the states and believes by defeating Vargas, that it’s a good start.
“I believe this fight will make me more well known in the states and in the Latino boxing community. I love fighting guys that are aggressive and come to fight and I believe this fight is something the fans are going to enjoy to watch,” stated Tomlinson.
After a brief intro, “El Bandido” Vargas was introduced. Vargas came onto the call excited and humble towards his opponent. Similar to Tomlinson, Vargas has a good deal of respect for his opponent and expressed his excitement to be fighting a tough opponent in Wild Will.
“I’m very excited about the fight, I’m training very hard and preparing for everything. I know Will is hungry and is going to want to make a statement and I’m going to be prepared for everything.”
After the brief statements from both fighters, the call was opened for questions. One of the first questions was directed at Oscar and he was asked what could be next for the winner of this fight.
“That’s a great question. I think the door would be wide open for title shots depending on how things went during this fight. I believe the fight will have plenty of action and could really set up a shot at a title soon after,” said De La Hoya.
Vargas was then asked how he felt Tomlinson’s style fared compared to his previous opponents.
“I think Will has a lot of tools he brings to the ring. He’s strong, aggressive and comes straightforward. Will also is fast and we are working with a lot of fighters who can emulate his style.”
Tomlinson recognizes that Vargas is an up and comer from Mexico and has kept a close eye on him throughout the years.
“I’ve been watching Vargas for some years now and have always considered him a potential opponent. I’m not sure if Francisco remembers this, but we used to spar. We sparred back in ’07 at the amateur world championships in Chicago,” said Tomlinson.
Vargas recalled sparring an Australian back in those days, but could not remember it being Tomlinson. Oscar did get some question regarding the upcoming Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland bout and for the most part tried to deflect them and maintain the focus on Vargas vs. Tomlinson.
He did however give us one little nugget of information. “I want to keep the focus on this fight, but I will say one thing, we plan on breaking the record held by Julio Caesar Chavez and Pernell Whitaker at the Alamodome and sell out the place and set a new record.”
Both Tomlinson and Vargas understand the importance of this fight and the impact it could have on possible tittle shots. Having seen both fighters, it is a safe assumption to say that it should prove to be entertaining.
Neither man knows what it means to retreat, and both are ready to make it a war. Make sure to tune in to HBO Latino on March 12 to watch these two warriors go at it, as well as Frankie Gomez in the co-main event.
Can Will Tomlinson make a name for himself by defeating the Mexican rising star, or will Vargas continue to gain recognition and keep rising among the rankings of the Featherweight division?
Leave a comment letting us know who you think will win this matchup!
