By Jake Donovan
All throughout the promotion and especially during fight week, Jessie Vargas has listened to Tim Bradley talk… and talk… and talk leading up to their welterweight fight Saturday evening at StubHub Center in Carson, California. An epic tirade launched by the former two-division titlist earlier in the week helped transform an intriguing welterweight clash into an anticipated grudge match.
Bradley has since apologized for the outburst, citing a combination of fatigue and agitation for his remarks towards Vargas and new trainer, former four-division champ Erik Morales. Vargas never truly took the bait, explaining why—for the most part—he chose the high road.
“I see this as Salvador Sanchez versus… what’s that Puerto Rican’s name again,” Vargas quipped during Thursday’s press conference, drawing parallels to Sanchez’ knockout win over the great Wilfredo Gomez in their featherweight superfight 21 years ago. The comparison was meant to note that the fighter who talked the toughest didn't necessarily prove as much once the opening bell sounded. “Gomez was just talking and talking. Salvador Sanchez was quiet, just knowing what he was going to do.”
While this fight is nowhere near on that level in terms of historical relevance, plenty of attention has been paid to Saturday’s main event, which airs live on HBO (9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. local time). Vargas (26-0, 9KOs) firmly believes it will be the defining moment of his career, one where he’s fully ready to let his fists do all of the talking after remaining relatively quiet in the days leading up to the fight.
“I plan to give you a great 12-round fight of non-stop punches. I can assure you, we will not stop throwing punches, without (any) problem,” Vargas promises.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox