By Luis Sandoval

WBA Junior Welterweight champion Jessie Vargas is fresh off a hard fought victory against Anton Novikov and now he’s ready to move on to his next assignment. While Vargas has different options he can explore, there’s one fight in particular he has his eyes on.

“I want Juan Manuel Marquez. I’m going to go to [StubHub Center Saturday night] and chase him out and see if that’ll heat him up a bit” said Vargas as he smiled.  “Of course we’re pursuing that fight but at the end of the day it’s up to my promoter Top Rank and my manager Cameron Dunkin to see what’s next for me. But that’s a fight I want to pursue and I’ve told them that I want that fight and they said they’re going to work on it. So I hope that Marquez shows the same interest”.

Marquez has been fighting at Welterweight in order to try to become the first Mexican fighter to win five titles in five weight classes and Vargas is ready to move back to 147 in order to make the fight happen. And if Marquez wants the fight at 140 pounds, Vargas is ready to put his title on the line as well.

Even at 40 years old, Marquez has shown he’s still one of the best fighters as he scored an impressive win over a bigger and younger Mike Alvarado this past May. Vargas believes if he and Marquez are paired up in the ring, their fight would be exciting but it would be him who would hold the advantages.

“[We would make] a great fight. It would be somewhat like Morales. I throw a lot of punches, I’m fast, and I wouldn’t let him get off. He’s too short for me. I think that the height advantage would play a big factor. The speed. The youth. He’s a very strong fighter but I have a chin that’s made out of rock. And plus, I think I’d be too fast for him but hopefully he’s interested in the fight. I’m currently a WBA world champion so let’s make the fight happen Marquez” Vargas would tell BoxingScene.

Vargas fulfilled his goal of becoming a world champion and now he’s looking for the big name fight against one of the best fighters around. All he wants is the same opportunity Marquez searched for most of his career.

“Give me the shot [Marquez]. Give me the opportunity. The same opportunity that you were looking for when you were 20 years old and you had to wait 10, 12, 13 years to actually get your opportunity. Let me get my opportunity and hopefully you see this [interview] and you make the fight happen”.

You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter & Instagram @Truewest007