The Vargas dynasty continues.
Unbeaten prospects Fernando Vargas Jr. and Emiliano Vargas will see action in separate fight cards this weekend.
Fernando Jr. will square off against Juan Carlos Cordones of the Dominican Republic on Friday night at the Southwestern University Event Center in El Paso, Texas. The 10-round junior middleweight bout will headline a MarvNation Promotions card and will stream live on DAZN at 7 p.m.
Younger brother Emiliano will face Jose Zaragoza on Saturday night at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach, Florida. The eight-round bout, which will be part of a Top Rank card, will stream live on ESPN+ at 3:30 p.m.
Fernando Vargas Sr., the 1996 Channel Islands High graduate and former world junior middleweight champion, trains both sons and also middle sibling, Amado. Vargas Sr. will be in the corner of Vargas Jr., then fly out early Saturday to be in the corner of Emiliano.
Emiliano Vargas (10-0, 8 knockouts) is coming off a knockout win over Angel Varela on May 18 in San Diego. The win marked the first fight at 140 pounds for the unbeaten 20-year-old.
Top Rank promotes Emiliano, who is considered one of the top prospects in boxing. Brad Goodman, who is the matchmaker for Top Rank, believes Emiliano can be one of the elite fighters in the junior welterweight division.
“Emiliano has the whole package with his marketability and ability, and having Fernando as his dad helps as well,” Goodman told The Star on Wednesday. “Emiliano wants to fight the top guys right now, but he needs to realize it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
“As he gets older and gets more experience under his belt, he’s only going to get better and better. He can definitely be a superstar, and the sky’s the limit.”
Goodman was recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Around boxing circles, Top Rank is considered the best promotional company in developing a young fighter or prospect to contend for a world title belt.
Zaragoza (9-8-2 1 NC, 3 KOs), who is originally from Jalisco, Mexico, and now resides in Sedalia, Missouri, has not fought since a majority decision draw against fringe contender Victor Betancourt on Nov. 11, 2023.
Fernando Vargas Jr. (14-0, 13 KOs) scored the biggest win of his young career in his last bout on March 16 in Stockton, knocking out former contender Brad Solomon in the third round. In his previous fight, also on Nov. 11, he dropped journeyman Wilfredo Buelvas, scoring a knockout win in the second round.
The 27-year-old was very active in 2023, fighting six times.
Cordones (14-4, 9 KOs) has not fought since March 2022, losing by knockout to Luis Georges. He has lost his last four fights, all by knockout.
All three Vargas siblings live and train in Las Vegas. Amado Vargas has a fight lined up on July 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim against Sean Garcia, the younger brother of Ryan Garcia.
Rodriguez fights for title
Jesse Rodriguez will challenge Juan Francisco Estrada for the Ring Magazine junior bantamweight championship on Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The 12-round bout will headline a Matchroom Boxing card and will stream live on DAZN at 5 p.m.
Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) stopped Sunny Edwards in the ninth round of his last bout on Dec. 16, 2023, becoming the unified world titleholder at 112 pounds. The fight took place at the Desert Diamond Arena in nearby Glendale.
The 24-year-old is moving up in weight to 115 pounds to challenge Estrada, who is also the WBC world titleholder. Ventura County legend Robert Garcia, who has trained Rodriguez since his pro debut in March 2017, believes the best is yet to come for his charge.
“When he came to my gym at 15, I knew he was going to be special,” Garcia told The Star after the win over Edwards. “He was already special. It was just getting the right team. It wasn’t easy because of the weight divisions. We were lined up at 108 (pounds). We had to create different opportunities, or spots, having to once (pay to fight out of pocket) in Tijuana.
“At 108 pounds, (promoter) Eddie (Hearn) took a look at him and that was the beginning. He became a world champion after moving up two weight divisions. Bringing us together with the team we have now, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, there’s no stopping us anymore.”
Rodriguez won the vacant WBC world title in February 2022, defeating Carlos Cuadras by unanimous decision. He defended the title four months later, knocking out Sriskaet Sor Rungvisai of Thailand in his hometown of San Antonio. He vacated the WBC title, dropping down in weight to fight for the WBO world flyweight title.
Garcia is a 1993 Channel Islands High graduate and a former world champion at 130 pounds.
Mixed results for locals
Two fighters from Ventura County fought on June 20 inside The Hangar at the OC Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa.
Welterweight Julian Baez of Camarillo defeated Steven Shareef, who was making his pro debut, by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 38-38, while the other two judges scored the bout 39-37 for Baez, who improved to 2-0.
Baez is trained by Joseph “Hoss” Janik at Knuckleheadz Gym in Ventura.
In light heavyweight action, Jaime Cerna stopped Simon Aristegui (3-2, 3 KOs) of Oxnard at 2:59 of the opening round. Cerna, who resides in Rancho Cucamonga, improved to 6-0-1, 4 KOs.
Francisco A. Salazar covers boxing for The Star. He also covers boxing for Ring Magazine. He can be reached on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Unbeaten Vargas brothers step back into the ring this weekend
