LOS ANGELES: A bloodied Francisco Vargas retained his WBC belt Saturday by battling to a draw with fellow Mexican Orlando Salido in a match that could earn him a second straight fight of the year award.
The 31-year-old Vargas and Salido went toe-to-toe in a 12-round slugfest for the world super featherweight championship at the StubHub Center stadium.
Vargas improved to 24-0-1 with 17 knockouts as he had to go the distance despite suffering bad cuts over both eyes which he claimed were the result of head butts from Salido.
“It was a great fight that the fans liked,” Vargas said. “Unfortunately the cuts are always with the head. But I never gave up.
“I am very happy that I won and I am looking for more challenges.”Rightly so. Vargas then added he needs some time to “relax” and recuperate.
In November, Vargas got off the canvas and recovered from getting badly cut to take the belt from Japan’s Takashi Miura by ninth-round technical knockout to win the fight of the year.
This was another battle of attrition. Vargas will need time to heal as he had deep cuts over both eyes, but still managed to land heavy punches on Salido as the two pummelled each other right up to the final bell.
