WBC super bantamweight champion Rey Vargas defends his crown for a princely sum, against marauding Armenian Azat Hovhannisyan this Saturday at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

"We had an excellent preparation, we are close to the weight and ready to defend the belt," commented tall order champion Rey, who hails from Otumba in the State of Mexico.

Aware that the gauntlet has been thrown down by challenger Azat (14-2, 11 KOs), champion Rey (31-0, 22 KOs) awaits an all action fight, pledging that the joust won`t go the full twelve rounds, declaring:

"It`ll be a tough fight, and there could very well be a knockout. This encounter will be explosive, combining intelligence and a lot of strategy. We are going to deliver a great fight and likely, an all out war inside the ring."

Last week, it was the 75th anniversary of the birth of Vicente Saldívar, the great southpaw who is famous for his two sensational victories against Howard Winstone - The Pride of Wales.

Vicente, who was once described as having the proportional strength and power of a yearling bull, built an amazing amateur career that took him to the Olympic Games in Rome. Then he turned professional shaping a Fabulous campaign that culminated with the conquest for the featherweight world championship, when on September 26, 1964 at the Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, he defeated Ultiminio Ramos by technical knockout in 11 rounds.

On that occasion inside the packed arena, two avid fans were the former President of Mexico Adolfo López Mateos, and President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz. On the way to this absolute triumph, Vicente had won the national crown. His career was brilliantly and astutely directed by Adolfo Pérez.
  
Vicente fought as a professional from 1961 to 1973 and held eleven battles with a world title at stake. He retired with a record of 37 victories; 26 of them by knockout and just three defeats.