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One man will move on to meet WBC junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga, the loser drops to the back of the line. Fernando Vargas (25-2, 22 KOs), a two-time junior middleweight champion will face two-time junior middleweight champion Javier Castillejo (58-5-0, 39 KOs) at the AllState Arena in Chicago, IL.
Vargas has not lost a fight since an 11th round TKO loss to Oscar De La Hoya in September of 2002. Coincidentally, Castillejo's last loss was also to Oscar De La Hoya, by way of a 12 round unanimous decision in June of 2001. Castillejo has been on a major run since the loss to De La Hoya, winning 6 of his last 7 fights by knockout. The only fighter to last the distance with Castillejo since 2001 was new junior middleweight sensation, Roman Karmazin. Although Karmazin was able to last the distance, he was soundly defeated by Castillejo.
This bout is the second time in two years that Vargas is stepping into the ring. A reoccurring back injury forced Vargas to stay away from the ring for 15 months. Vargas made his return this past March and scored a ten round unanimous decision win over the durable Raymond Joval. The performance of Vargas in this bout will be a indicator as to how far Vargas will go in the junior middleweight division. [details]
Vargas has not lost a fight since an 11th round TKO loss to Oscar De La Hoya in September of 2002. Coincidentally, Castillejo's last loss was also to Oscar De La Hoya, by way of a 12 round unanimous decision in June of 2001. Castillejo has been on a major run since the loss to De La Hoya, winning 6 of his last 7 fights by knockout. The only fighter to last the distance with Castillejo since 2001 was new junior middleweight sensation, Roman Karmazin. Although Karmazin was able to last the distance, he was soundly defeated by Castillejo.
This bout is the second time in two years that Vargas is stepping into the ring. A reoccurring back injury forced Vargas to stay away from the ring for 15 months. Vargas made his return this past March and scored a ten round unanimous decision win over the durable Raymond Joval. The performance of Vargas in this bout will be a indicator as to how far Vargas will go in the junior middleweight division. [details]