Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Vargas Takes Shot at Claggett, Ready for Rivera
By Don Smith
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 03 Jul 2014
Samuel Vargas.
Boxing Fans,
When I started talking to Samuel Vargas Manager Lee Baxter last week, I knew very little about the 25 year old Toronto, Ontario based boxer some people refer to as Sammy ?The Bull? Vargas. Lee is more than a hired hand; he is a valued friend to the Multi tattooed pugilist who also frequents the tattoo establishment (Forever Young Ink) owned by the enterprising Mr. Baxter. The two men have bonded after 5 years of acquaintance; lee has served 2 of those years as manager and they live and work out of Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Samuel Vargas (17-1-1) was born in the Latin American Country of Colombia where an unfortunate and horrific childhood incident (age 13) led to his departure from his native land and his eventual migrating to Canada in 2004 with his Mom where he took up boxing as a prescribed antidote to curb his frequent bouts of teenage angst. Mom knew best.
Vargas replaces Calgary based welterweight Steve Claggett who bowed out after a ?dog bite? to one of his hands rendered him unable to fight on the July 6 card in Calgary where he was to face tough Mexican veteran Jose Jesus Rivera, 26-10 at the Roadhouse, a popular night spot. It is according to Box Rec., Vargas? first professional fight in Calgary and the same can be said about Rivera who fights almost exclusively in Mexico. According to Baxter, Vargas has no fear of Rivera and I am sure Rivera feels confident he can beat Vargas in their scheduled for 8 round encounter at the Roadhouse.
Vargas doesn?t fear Claggett one bit either. The two have verbally clashed for years. The two men are night and day apart in style and personality.
Vargas was born in the Barrios of Colombia whereas Claggett is the darling of faithful groupies who cheer every move he makes during a bout. In simple laymen?s terms, it?s a clash between white collar and no collar. Claggett is a showman and a self-promoter. Vargas is no nonsense. Like I said, night and day.
The event, ?Redemption under the Tent? will feature 6 bouts including the return of popular Janks Trotter vs. rugged Phil Rose. Also on the playbill are the professional debuts of two former national champions: Alex Torres Rynn and the Polish ?Punch-out? Lukasz Wierzbicki (3-0). Rynn meets MMA trained Kyle Oliveira from Winnipeg and the Polish war machine faces confident Edmonton Alberta fighter Keegan Oliver in his debut ring performance. Everyone is looking for redemption.
Vargas is a champion, he holds an NABA belt and he did possess the Canadian welterweight belt but it was stripped from him in 2013 when boxing authorities in Canada determined the 25 year old Colombia born native didn?t defend the belt within time constraints.; Vargas peeps aren?t happy with the decision. It is still a sore spot with Vargas knowing that the commission called for a box off for the belt between Francesco Controni with Claggett winning the belt with a 6th round TKO victory.
Baxter, or so it seems, would rather put the issue of Claggett in his rear view mirror but he does admit that a bag of cash would help him re-consider and then the same breath he adds ?that ain?t going to happen?. I tried one more time to clarify the situation by sending and email this interesting response was returned. If expletives offend, please have someone read this reply to him or her. Here is the question, followed by an immediate response:
ABNN: For almost two years, printed and whispered rumors have circulated that a possible match with Steve Claggett (Calgary) would happen! Will it happen and is there any ?real? bad blood between the two of you?
Vargas: ?Claggett is a bitch. Ya, I said it, but it doesn?t matter what is said anymore because he always backs out of the fight. But for some reason if he manned up and decided to fight me, I would do it without a doubt?.
Vargas Response on the difference between poverty in Colombia, U.S.A. and Canada? ?Well when you?re poor in Columbia there isn?t much of an opportunity to turn that around where as in North America there is a lot of government help and opportunities?.
Official Vargas response to Pablo Munguia (UD) loss in Mexico City: ?Mexico City is very corrupt, we realized the only way Sam could have beat him is with a knockout because the judges are supporting the home boy. But, unfortunately Sam injured his hand badly in the second round; so, Sam was forced to fight him with a jab and left hook. And for sure we would like a rematch but not in Mexico City.
Traditional pre-fight festivities include a July 4 press conference (open to the public) at the Shooting Edge (5-7 pm), 403-720-4867 for directions. All fighters will be present and available for pictures and Autographs. The official weigh-in will be held at the comfortable Shamrock Hotel (Saturday July 5 2-4 pm) in Calgary and call for directions at 403-290-0084. The weigh-in is also open to the public. Tickets are available through the Roadhouse and www.fanbasebolxing.com. Until Next Time
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.
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