VARGAS-SALIDO SUPERFEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP IS WBC FIGHT OF THE YEAR
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 14 Dec 2016
The World Boxing Council during the WBC?s annual convention in Hollywood, Florida announced that the Francisco Vargas vs. Orlando Salido bout was named the 2016 WBC Tecate Fight of the Year. The other two contenders were Carlos Cuadras vs. Roman Gonzalez and Jorge Linares vs. Anthony Crolla.
The Vargas-Salido encounter, a savage bout that ended in a draw, gave Vargas back-to-back honors for the WBC award. Vargas was also engaged in an action-packed ring battle with Takashi Miura last year which was also declared as WBC Fight of the Year.
"As we looked at all the fights that could have been considered for the 2016 Tecate Fight of the Year, I was reminded of all the former champions who have raised a WBC belt in the past and our commitment to excellence in the sport," said WBC President Mauricio Sulaim?n. "2016 was an emotional year as we lost Ali, and we wanted to recognize a fight he'd have been proud to witness. That said, I'd like to congratulate Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido on a legendary bout that I believe was dedicated to Ali's memory and is very well deserving of the Tecate Fight of the Year Award."
Many regarded the Vargas-Salido fight also as a shoo-in for the official BWAA Fight of the Year honors. The bout was held at the StubHub Center in California on June 4, 2016 a day after Ali died. The action that unfolded were twelve rounds of brutal war which boxing enthusiasts after the final bell sounded already thought as the greatest bout of the year and even the past years. When the fight result was announced as a draw, almost all were satisfied because this was a very close match on which neither fighter deserved to lose.
WBC World super featherweight champion Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) landed 386 of the incredible 1,184 punches he threw for a 33% connection. While Salido (42-13-4, 29 KOs) landed 328 of 939 total punches for a 35% accuracy. A remarkable 615 of the 714 punches landed overall were power shots.
One judge scored for Vargas, 115-113, but the other two scored it a 114-114 draw, but both fighters accepted the verdict.
?I felt I won,? said Salido, ?but it was a close fight, a tough fight. We fought like Mexicans do.?
Vargas, his face was red of blood due to Salido's unintentional head butt and scar tissue of the previous bout with Miura opened, declared that he was very happy for the entertainment he provided for the fans. ?It is what I wanted. I am looking for more challenges.? But he admitted that his next move was to heal his wounds. ?For now, we need to relax a bit.?
Vargas is scheduled to face another Mexican Miguel Berchelt on January 28th in Indio, California for his next encounter.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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