By Miguel Rivera
WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas realizes that he's a very big underdog heading into this Saturday's fight with Manny Pacquiao at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. He's promised to channel the energy of Mexican fight idol Juan Manuel Marquez in the ring that night.
Vargas is looking to make a big statement for his career after knocking out Saddam Ali in March to capture the vacant welterweight crown of the World Boxing Organization (WBO).
"It was not easy being crowned world champion, but taking the talent, mental focus, and the desire to succeed - I was able to achieve it," Vargas said.
Vargas (27-1-0, 10 KOs) is not a puncher and only has 10 knockouts in 28 career fights. However, Vargas swears that his speed and power has increased since making a decision to change coaches and hired Dewey Cooper.
Vargas is hungry to replicate Marquez's knockout win over Pacquiao. More so than anyone else, Marquez has been the most difficult opponent of Pacquiao's career. They fought three times, with Pacquiao barely escaping defeat in the the first three meetings and suffering a brutal knockout in the sixth round of their fourth meeting in 2012.
"We are very strong, I will train to be faster than Manny Pacquiao. The speed has gone up significantly, and so has my power," said Vargas. "We are in the best moment of my career. Pacquiao will see a Juan Manuel Marquez in the ring - but a young one, 27 years old, taller, longer, stronger, faster and with more agility. We are very quick, very explosive."
"I've always had the strength to fight, I just needed a coach to take my strength and put it to good use in the fight. And thank God I found Cooper, because he's brought out my strength, punching power, speed and desire to want to knock the opponent out. Now I'm going in there with the mindset that when I see the knockout, I will knock him out."
