LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 05: Jessie Vargas (R) hits Manny Pacquiao in the fourth round of their WBO welterweight championship fight at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao won by unanimous decision. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP
Many wrote Jessie Vargas off heading into the biggest fight of his boxing career against Manny Pacquiao.
Vargas lost, yielding his WBO welterweight title, but not after putting up a gutsy showing against the Filipino legend that left even Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach surprised.
“He (Pacquiao) pretty much fought a good fight. The opponent was a little bit better than I thought he was, he had a lot of heart,” Roach told reporters in the post-fight press conference.
“He hung in there, maybe he hurt [Manny] more than a couple times. He kept coming, he has a lot of heart, a lot of balls and I like watching him. He’s a great kid.”
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The 27-year-old Vargas lost by unanimous decision and even tasted the canvass in the second round after getting hit with a left straight that felled many of Pacquiao’s previous opponents over the years.
But Vargas had his moments and went on to go the distance against the eight-division champion.
Vargas didn’t get the result he wanted, but he was able to make a statement.
“Without a doubt I belonged there. This is where I belong,” he said. “To have Manny Pacquiao think two, three four times before coming in, he wasn’t coming in comfortably which made it a chess match.”
“I belong here. I’m sorry that I let my fans down with this fight. I plan to use it as experience, comeback stronger and capture another world title. This is only the beginning of my career. Manny Pacquiao has more world title fights than I have fights. I’m going to be stronger.”