By Cliff Rold
Resuming hostilities just four months after their first rugged encounter, 31-year old Jr. Featherweight Jose Nieves (19-2-3, 8 KO) of Carolina, Puerto Rico, won a second consecutive decision over 26-year old Cuauhtemoc Vargas (15-6-1, 10 KO) of Mexico City, Mexico, on Friday night at the Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida. Rather than a split nod for Nieves, as was the case in April, the night would end this time with a majority decision verdict.
Nieves came into the bout spot on the division limit of 122 lbs. while Vargas scaled a pound below at 121.
The southpaw Nieves began the fight with stiff, quick right jabs while Vargas attempted to feint in with heavy steps and wound up rights. It wasn’t adding up to much in the connect category until late in the round when a single harsh blow caught the attention of the crowd. Both men would have their moments in an engaging second frame, Vargas’s pressure rushing the attempts at precision from Nieves.
A Vargas lead right immediately into the third brought a response from Nieves in the form of two straight lefts. It was indicative of the round, Vargas throwing hard once and Nieves responding with his superior speed to let go a couple while also using his legs to limit Vargas’s offense. With the battle at closer quarters for long stretches of the fourth, Vargas found more chances, raking the body. Nieves was game, using the trenches to unleash short, accurate shots. In the waning seconds, the advantage was to Vargas as a left uppercut rocked Nieves and forced him to the ropes.
They appeared to split rounds five and six, Vargas’s heavy hands carrying the former but the speed and accuracy of Nieves evident in the latter. In the seventh, Vargas was nasty to the body and again with the left uppercut, Nieves covering up and moving away without offense before trying to assert his jab. A pair of Nieves lefts and following right allowed him his bones for the round.
With a cut over the right eye smearing blood, Vargas ate slinging lefts and wore a look of discouragement at times in the eighth. To his credit, he bit down and continued to press, working his way back onto a wearied Nieves in round nine.
The battle would remain close into the final third, both men giving their supporters something to cling to. By the final round, it was clear a scoring nightmare was at hand, evidenced as Vargas hammered the body while eating clean hooks to the face. The exhausted combatants both looked for a closing statement, Nieves landing a left uppercut and Vargas a wide right, in the final thirty seconds.
Ultimately the night, and the rematch, would belong to Nieves at scores of 117-111, 117-113, offset by an even 114-114.
Also televised, promising 18-year old Cuban Jr. Featherweight Hairon Socarras (4-0, 4 KO), 123, was devastating in scoring a highlight reel first round knockout over Puerto Rico’s Eduardo Melendez (4-10, 1 KO) with a single short left hook. The time of the stoppage was not announced.
The card was televised in the U.S. on Spanish language network Telemundo, promoted by All Star Boxing.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com