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Mosley gives Vargas the left hook...and lights out
There was no controversy this time around as Mosley dominated Vargas for five rounds before knocking him out in the sixth.
Mosley dominated Vargas for five rounds and then demolished him in the sixth to score an emphatic TKO in their junior middleweight rematch Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
When they met five months ago, Mosley scored a 10th-round TKO, but the fight was stopped because of massive swelling over Vargas' left eye. Vargas cried foul, saying the swelling was caused by a head butt rather than a punch.
It was an accusation Mosley -- and most who saw the fight -- didn't take seriously, but the noise Vargas (26-4) made about it, and the commercial success of the fight, was enough to bring them together for a rematch.
Mosley, 34, dominated it from the outset. He looked faster and stronger than Vargas and was accurate with his punches. He landed several strong right hands and stiff jabs that rocked Vargas' head back.
A right hand near the end of the fourth hurt Vargas, and when Mosley (43-4, 37 KOs) returned to the corner after the round, he smacked high-fives with his trainer and father Jack Mosley, who was back in his son's corner for the first time in two years.
Mosley gave credit to his father for the victory. "We were in the gym working real hard and he was very inspirational, not only to me but to everyone in the camp," Mosley said.
In the fifth, Mosley opened a cut over Vargas' right eye. As blood dripped down Vargas' cheek, the doctor checked the cut, and when action resumed, Mosley connected with several punches in a flurry that closed the round.
The sixth round began in routine fashion, but then Mosley landed a huge left hook that sent Vargas crashing to the canvas. Vargas rolled over onto all fours and was unsteady, but he beat referee Kenny Bayless' count.
Moments later, Mosley unleashed another flurry and Bayless stopped the fight at 2:38 as a dejected Vargas staggered back to his corner and the crowd of 9,722 roared.
"I thought I was doing well until the left hook," Vargas said. "I thought it was slowly going my way. I didn't see the left hook. I didn't see it until I saw it on the replay."
All three judges had the fight a 50-45 shutout for Mosley, as did ESPN.com at ringside.
HBO will replay the pay-per-view fight next Saturday night (10 p.m. ET) along with live coverage of the Carlos Baldomir-Arturo Gatti welterweight title fight.
When Oscar De La Hoya -- now Mosley's promotional partner -- knocked Vargas out in 2002, it was on a left hook similar to the one that Mosley landed. Mosley, a former champion as a lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight, said he remembered De La Hoya's punch well.
"When I was in the ring I remembered watching Oscar fight Vargas, and he threw that perfect left hook," Mosley said. "I was bouncing around and I saw the opportunity and I threw the perfect left hook."
Vargas, who has struggled with his weight for years, paid the price by having to lose so many pounds before this fight. He made the 154-pound limit but was sluggish and ballooned up to 168 on fight night while Mosley only reached 159.
Mosley said he noticed a difference in Vargas' strength compared to the first fight.
"I think he was weaker in this fight," Mosley said. "He looked like was breaking down and I knew if I hit him with some good body shots he would break down even more."
Said Danny Smith, Vargas' trainer, "Fernando looked slow. I don't know if it was the weight or what, but he wasn't able to utilize the jab or move his head. He didn't look like he did when we first started training for the fight. It seemed as though as his weight came down he was less sharp. Having those wars he has had takes it toll."
Mosley wanted to go back down to the welterweight division he once dominated after the first fight, but the rematch kept him at junior middleweight. Now, he intends to go back to 147 pounds.
Waiting for him could be a mega fight against pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather would like the fight in November, but Mosley said he doesn't even plan to resume training until November.
"You know Antonio Margarito is out there waiting to fight Floyd," said Mosley, who earned about $4 million plus a percentage of pay-per-view profits. "Those guys should fight each other and we can fight next year. The only thing I know is my tooth is a little lose and I might have to go to the dentist."
Vargas, meanwhile, appears finished at the top of the sport. His four losses have all been by knockout, three in devastating fashion, to Mosley, De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad. He is an old 28 after becoming the youngest junior middleweight champion in history.
He is marrying longtime fiancée Martha Lopez on Aug. 5. Beyond that, he doesn't know what he will do about his career.
"I have to speak with my fiancée and my team and we will see from there," said Vargas, who earned $3 million plus upside on the pay-per-view.
Source: ESPN.com