By Ian S Palmer
WBC Super Featherweight Champion Miguel Berchelt of Mexico will be defending his belt against fellow countryman Francisco Vargas in a long awaited rematch this Saturday, May 11th. The 12-round bout from Tucson, Arizona can be seen live in the USA on ESPN and ESPN Deportes while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN 5 and those in the UK and Ireland see it on BoxNation. Berchelt’s last contest took place in November when he stopped Miguel Roman in the ninth round. Vargas last fought in April of 2014 when Rod Salka couldn’t answer the bell for the seventh round. Berchelt won the title in the first fight against Vargas with an 11th-round stoppage in a thriller in January, 2017.
Berchelt is 27 years old and has an excellent record of 35-1 with 31 Kos. He turned pro back in 2010 and has 137 rounds under his belt since then. He stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a reach of 71 inches. Berchelt’s record shows that he has quite a bit of power and his current knockout ratio is a very impressive 86 per cent. His lone loss was a first-round TKO at the hands of Luis Florez in 2014. Berchelt’s best wins have been against Vargas, Roman, Jonathan Barros, Takashi Miura,George Jupp, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Escalante, Carlos Reyes and Cristobal Cruz.
Berchelt had a fine amateur career and was a three-time national champion. He’s a fan-friendly boxer with an exciting style who gave fans a couple of classics against very tough customers in Vargas and Miura. He’s defending his title for the fifth time here and he definitely can’t take the dangerous Vargas too lightly. Berchelt can be hit, as Vargas and others have shown and despite being stopped once he’s displayed a solid chin which should be tested once again by the hard-hitting Vargas on Saturday night.
The 34-year-old Vargas enters the ring with a mark of 25-1-2 with 18 Kos. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and has a 70-inch reach which makes him an inch taller than Berchelt with a one-inch minimal reach disadvantage. He’s well known to boxing fans for his classic slugfests against Berchelt as well as Orlando Salido and Takashi Miura. Vargas is a former Mexican Olympian who fought in the 2008 Games in Beijing, China and turned pro in 2010. He’s gone 140 rounds since then and has a knockout ratio of 64 per cent.
His draws came against Salido in 2016 and Byron Gonzalez in 2010 in his fourth pro outing. Vargas is comfortable using his boxing skills or going toe-to-toe and is generally successful no matter which style he chooses to use. He stopped Juan Manuel Lopez in the third round back in 2014 and has also beaten some good opponents in Miura, Stephen Smith, Jerry Belmontes, Will Tomlinson and Abner Cotto. It’s probably safe to say the wars against Berchelt, Miura and Salido have sapped some energy out of Vargas.
Prediction…
The first fight between Berchelt and Vargas as it was very close and competitive until it was stopped. Bother boxers have exciting styles and solid chins and this fight has the potential to be one of the best of the year. Vargas is getting on in age now and this will likely be his last shot at a world title. He’s going to give it everything he has but I think the younger Berchelt will retain his title with another close win over him. Look for both boxers to give and take while leaving nothing in the ring.
