By Steve Kim
So what was Jessie Vargas' reaction to Jose Benavides calling him out after his victory over Francisco Santana on Saturday night?
''I didn't hear it, I was doing the HBO broadcast, the Spanish version of it and I didn't hear it," admitted the defending WBO welterweight titlist from ringside at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night."
But hey, he wants to fight, who doesn't want to fight for the WBO world title?"
But Vargas could be in the running to face Manny Pacquiao on November 5th at the Thomas and Mack Center. Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum has named Vargas and WBO/WBC junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford as the frontrunner to face Pacquiao in the fall.
"I believe it's Terence Crawford and I. We'll see what Bob decides by the end of this upcoming week,"said the 27-year old, who has a professional mark of 27-1(10 KO's). Vargas won his title by stopping Sadam Ali on March 5th in nine rounds.
Vargas says his manager,''Cameron Dunkin is working on the biggest fight possible the fans want to see. That's what I hope he's pursuing because he knows that I've told him time and time again that that's what I'm about - giving the fans a great fight. And that's what he's doing, he's doing a great job."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
