Fernando Vargas-Raymond Joval Round By Round Results

By Rick Reeno

After 15 Months of being on the shelf from a bad back, Fernando Vargas comes back to the sport of boxing. Vargas has not fought in the ring since December 12th, 2003 when he defeated journeyman Tony Marshall by way of a 7th round TKO. Fernando comes back to boxing in the middleweight division, 6 pounds up from his last fighting weight. Vargas goes up against Raymond Joval, a tough middleweight from the Netherlands. Joval has never been stopped, a former Olympian, fights tough, but does not have enough power in his hands to be a real threat.

Now we get to the fight. Vargas and Joval agreed to come into this fight weighing 2 pounds above the weight limit. On fight night, Vargas came in weighing 169 pounds, Joval was 175 pounds. The crowd went wild when Vargas came out to the ring.

Round 1 - The men come out and Joval appears to be leading the fight and Vargas is countering. Both men trying to jab to the body. Jab by Vargas. Jab to the body by Joval. Slow pace so far. Left hook to the body by Vargas. Vargas jabbing to the body. Joval's punches are very slow and not on point. Joval targeting the body of Vargas and trying to come upstairs. They get tied up, ref breaks them. Joval jabbing, bodyshot by Vargas. Uppercut by Joval.  Joval with a few jabs. Round goes to Vargas.

Round 2 - Vargas with a bodyshot, combo by Vargas. Lefthook by Vargas. Joval going back to the jab. Vargas jabbing to the body, Joval with a lefthook to the body. right hand by Vargas. Vargas with a right to the body. Uppercut and right by Vargas. Joval still jabbing. Right by Vargas, bodyshots by Vargas and a huge left by vargas. Joval flys back and looks hurt, Vargas comes after him, but Joval seems to have recovered well. Joval tries backing Vargas into the ropes. Big round for Vargas.

Round 3 - Both men jabbing, Vargas with a hard jab. Joval tries to hammer Vargas aginst the ropes. Crowd is going crazy for everything Vargas lands. Joval with a big right hand, Vargas takes it well. Joval trying to stay on Vargas and smother him, both guys hit the body close. Right hand by Vargas. Uppercut by Vargas. joval with a right hand and several bodyshots. Uppercut to the body by Vargas. Right by Joval, these guys are really trading punches in this round. Joval trying to land punches on Vargas against the ropes, Vargas with a bodyshot. Vargas with another round, but it was very close because Joval never stops punching.

Round 4 - HBO gave the last round to Joval. Right hand by Vargas, Joval tries to combo on Vargas. Joval backs Vargas against the ropes and tries to hit the body. Joval putting a lot of pressure on Vargas by staying on top of him. Right by Vargas. Jab by Vargas sends Joval's head back. Vargas gong to the body, Joval coming back to the body. Right to the head and left to the body by Vargas. Right By Joval and the two men trade at the bell, Vargas getting the better of the exchange. Another round for Vargas.

Round 5 - Joval comes back out and goes right back to staying on top of Vargas. Right hand by Vargas. Joval to the body. Right by Joval backs up Vargas. Left By Joval, combos by Joval and he now goes to the body. Joval landing up and down on Vargas. Left hook by Vargas. Bodyshot by Vargas, left stund Joval. Joval just keeps on punching at close range and hits Vargas with some right hands. Bodyshot by Vargas. uppercut by Joval. I gave this round to Joval, he really came hard in this round and Vargas did not do much.

Round 6 - Vargas jabbing to the body, double left by Vargas. Joval goes to the body at close range. Uppercut by Joval. Both men jabbing. Joval to the body and lands upstairs. Joval now beating on Vargas against the ropes to the body and the head. Vargas stands on Joval's foot and knocks him down, ref does not call it a knockdown. Joval now jabbing. Uppercut by Vargas. Joval almost slips, Vargas comes at Joval and lands a big uppercut. Another close round that goes to Vargas.

Round 7 - HBO gave the last round to Joval. Replay showed that Joval was hit with a bodyshot while off-balance with no foot by Vargas coming into play. Harold says that he thinks the ref made the right call and Larry Merchant disagrees with him. Joval making this a slow pace by following Vargas around and jabbing. Joval landing to the body and to the head. Joval now coming at the body again. Bodyshots by Vargas. They trade at close range and continue to trade to the bell. Another close round, but I gave it to Joval.

Round 8 - Joval goes back to jabbing. They trade left hands. Another left by Vargas, right hand by Joval. Uppercut by Joval. A cut above the left eyelid has opened on Joval. vargas with a right hand. Vargas digs to the body, right by Joval. Vargas sees blood and is now coming in strong, the cut is bothering Joval. Vargas with a right hand, left to the body by Vargas. Joval jabbing, crowd going wild for Vargas. Joval with a good bodyshot. Right hand by Vargas and now a left.  Big right hand by Vargas staggers Joval into the ropes. Big round for Vargas.

Round 9 - Vargas goes back to the right hands and Joval coming back with his right hand. Vargas targeting with the left eye of Joval. Joval hits Vargas with a huge low blow, ref did not see the shot, Vargas is hurt from the low blow and Joval goes on the attack. Vargas recovers himself and now starts landing power punches on Joval, uppercut by Joval as Vargas walks in. They are trading some hard shots at close range. Now the right eye of Joval is cut. Another round for Joval, the round was pretty close.

Round 10 - HBO gave Joval the last round. Final round, Joval needs a KO and I don't think he will get it. They come out throwing jabs. Entire crowd chanting for Vargas. Joval staying on top of Vargas and trying to throw anything he can, but lands nothing big. Vargas almost seems to be coasting this round. They are trading bodyshot at close range. Combo by Joval, right by Vargas. Joval lands a good combo. They go back to trading shots at close range. Joval with a big uppercut at the end. Close round for Vargas. I have Vargas winning the fight, HBO has Vargas winning the fight.

Official scores coming up.

98-92, 96-94 and 97-93 for the winner by unanimous decision, Ferocious Fernando Vargas.