Vargas is Cautious, Waits on Official Word on Pacquiao Fight

By Steve Kim

As it stands now, WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas is the probable opponent for Manny Pacquiao on November 5th - but nothing has been made official.

"I think it's a high probability of the fight between Manny Pacquiao and myself," said Vargas on Wednesday night when contacted by BoxingScene.com.

"Like I said, nothing's for sure until we have a signed contract on both ends. A perfect example is the Kell Brook fight."

It was just a month ago that a welterweight unification bout between Vargas and Brook was being discussed and thought to be well on it's way to completion when suddenly Brook took a fight with middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin for September 10.

"You have to understand, you're talking to a guy who had a fight where everything seemed official, the entire boxing world thought it was official. The fight just collapsed. That's why I'm cautious about whether the fight's going on or not," said Vargas.

But should he indeed get the assignment to face Pacquiao on November 5th, you could say that all's well that ends well for Vargas.

"This is another opportunity, it's a great fight - assuming that the fight is confirmed, set and sealed - I'm so happy I'll be fighting in my hometown of Las Vegas, where I haven't fought in about three years. So I know that we'll have a great turnout, the stadium's going to be packed. I know my city will be out supporting me and as soon as it gets confirmed, we'll start promoting it and let everyone know in my city and the L.A. area that I'm here to give the fans what they want to see and I'm not here to back down."

For Vargas, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. One that others recently turned down.

"Everyone in the fight world knows I don't back down. It's going to be a great night for us."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.