Vargas defends title, outpoints DeMarco in slugfest

By: Mark Giongco - 10 years ago

American champion Jessie Vargas lands a left straight on the face of Mexican challenger Antonio DeMarco during their title fight on Sunday in Macau. Photo from Top Rank’s Twitter account

MANILA, Philippines – Jessie Vargas defended his WBA light welterweight belt after beating Mexican challenger Antonio DeMarco in a 12-round slugfest in the first Pay-per-view undercard of the Pacquiao-Algieri headliner on Sunday at The Venetian in Macau.

Vargas outpointed DeMarco, who is guided by Manny Pacquiao’s Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach, with the three judges scoring a similar 116-112 in their scorecards.

The 25-year-old American upped his impressive record to 25-0, with nine knockouts while dealing the former lightweight champion DeMarco his fourth loss to go along with his 29 wins and one draw.

Both fighters went at it right at the opening bell but it was Vargas, trained by the former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr., who may have made the lasting impression being the more aggressive boxer in the latter rounds.