By Jake Donovan
Rising super bantamweight Jesus Ruiz continues to climb towards title contention, turning back a tougher than expected challenge from unretired Cuauhmetoc Vargas en route to a unanimous decision win Friday night at the Auditorio Plaza Condesa in Mexico City, Mexico.
Ruiz controlled the opening round almost exclusively on the strength of his jab, pushing Vargas around the ring even if not landing anything of conviction. The lack of aggression would bitterly come back to haunt him, as Vargas stood his ground and countered with hard body shots late in the first round.
From there, the fight was officially on. What was thought to be a safe tune-up for Ruiz turned out to be a stroll through Hell in the first half of the fight. Vargas never let up, allowing the younger and fresher Ruiz to box throughout the early rounds before ramping it up a few notches in the fourth.
Make no mistake about it; Ruiz was there to fight. What came as a surprise was Vargas’ getting stronger and more confident as the evening wore on. By the fourth, Vargas was repeatedly scoring to the body, and also occasionally coming back upstairs.
A far more balanced attack was offered by the unretired Mexican in the fifth, nailing Ruiz with an uppercut and continuing to mix up his attack between body shots and straight rights.
With the fight threatening to slip away from him, Ruiz managed to regain control in the sixth. The 20-year old Mexican prospect stuck with what worked – fundamentals. The jab as key in swinging momentum back in his favor.
After giving away enough rounds to have the fight status creep towards the point of no return on the scorecards, Vargas came back strong in the ninth. Rather waiting for counter opportunities, the veteran tried to throw Ruiz off of his game by pressing the action.
The strategy only produced short-term results. Ruiz remained in his envelope and fought a disciplined fight down the stretch, never allowing Vargas the opportunity to regain control.
It was enough to cruise to a unanimous decision win and creep one step towards the title picture. The victory is Ruiz’ fifth straight as he improves overall to 22-2-2 (18KO).
Vargas falls to 15-3-1 (10KO), losing for the third time in his last four fights, though such a streak is spread out over 4 ½ years. Having turned pro in 2001 at age 16, Vargas stepped away from the game in 2007 but was convinced to come out of retirement for this fight.
Based on his performance, an extension of his career might be in order as the break appeared to preserve his body and strength. At the very least, he looked a hell of a lot better here than in his last performance, a sixth round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Lopez.
While Ruiz didn’t exactly look lights out in this particular fight, there is certainly room for growth – figuratively and literally.
The lean 20-year old looks like he can grow into another division or two when all is said and done, though appears for the moment to be best suited for super bantamweight.
In addition to his rising status at the weight, Ruiz has also established himself as a staple on the Telemundo circuit and in Mexico City, playing the same venue for the third straight fight.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
