Junior Fa found a new breeding ground in his American tour, all while seeking to advance his place in the heavyweight division.
The unbeaten New Zealander remained perfect as a pro after outpointing Ohio’s Devin Vargas over 10 rounds Friday evening in front of a raucous crowd at Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Scores were 100-88, 99-89 and 97-91 in favor of Fa, who scored two knockdowns on the night but was forced to settle for a distance win in their main event on UFC Fight Pass.
The location seemed an odd choice at first glance, though the vocal crowd support—largely emanating from the region’s healthy Tongan population—created something of a home away from home game for New Zealand’s Fa (19-0, 10KOs), who mixed boxing and banging early, though often reminded of the danger Vargas still presents, even as a self-admitted B-side gatekeeper type of opponent these days.
Still, the American heavyweight—who served on the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing team in Athens, Greece—showed glimpses of past glory, even if his career never panned out as expected. He did his best to absorb Fa’s power, taking an uppercut clean in the early rounds and coming back strong with right hand shots for enough two-way action to create far too anxious moments.
Fa began to put separation between the two after scoring his first knockdown in round five. A body shot forced Vargas to the canvas midway through round five, though did little to slow down his determination.
“It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but it felt great,” Fa admitted to UFC Fight Pass’ Dan Cannobio afterward.
Another knockdown—once again courtesy of a body shot—in round eight erased any doubt as to the outcome of the bout, though did little in suggesting Vargas was prepared to go away quietly. The American once again dusted himself off and never stopped fighting back nor assuming the role of willing opponent, even if it wasn’t enough to make an impact on the final scorecards.
Vargas falls to 21-6 (9KOs), though the first time he didn’t suffer a stoppage in defeat. Whether it says more about his determined effort or less about Fa’s ability to close the show remains to be seen.
For now, the winner and still unbeaten heavyweight doesn’t plan to leave anything to chance.
“I want to train harder, work on my craft and hopefully be back in front of these fans in Utah again,” noted Fa, who is now 6-0 on American soil, including five of his last six starts.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
