Francisco Vargas (Mexican boxer)

Amateur career

At the 2006 Central American Games, Vargas lost to eventual winner Yordenis Ugás 7:14. At the 2007 Pan American Games, Vargas competed at featherweight. He lost to David Souza. At the first qualifier for the 2008 Olympics, Vargas was edged out by Juan Cuellar. At the second qualifier, the 23-year-old beat Franz Mamani and the Canadian southpaw Ibrahim Kamal. Vargas was then outpointed by Brazilian Éverton Lopes 6:11 but shut out Alexis Folleco 5:0 to qualify as the third Mexican boxer after Arturo Santos Reyes and Óscar Valdez.

Professional career

A professional since 2010, Vargas at one point won 20 fights in a row. He has one loss to Miguel Berchelt, two draws in his career against Byron Gonzalez in Vargas' fourth fight and most recently against the former three-time world champion Orlando Salido on June 4, 2016, in front of 7,378 fans at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, on HBO Boxing After Dark.

In March 2012, Vargas signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions. “I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Golden Boy Promotions family,” said Vargas. “I know they have the resources to lead me to championship level and expand my fan base throughout Mexico and the United States. I look forward to making them proud.” “It’s an honor to add another former Olympian to the Golden Boy Promotions roster,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “Boxing will never grow if we don’t keep bringing in new blood, and I’m confident Francisco will be an important player in the sport for many years to come.”

On March 31, 2012, Vargas made his debut under the Golden Boy banner with a third-round TKO of Carlos Martinez, kicking off a busy year that saw him add six more wins to his stellar record. In January 2013, Vargas faced what was expected to be the toughest test of his young career in veteran Ira Terry, but he made short work of Terry, knocking him out in just two rounds. In May, Vargas stopped Cristian Arrazola in three rounds. Vargas stepped up to the plate once again on August 9, 2013, when he met fellow unbeaten fighter Brandon Bennett for the NABF and WBO Intercontinental Super Featherweight titles. Vargas won both belts by nearly shutting Bennett out over 10 rounds.

On December 13, 2013, Vargas won all 10 rounds in a decision victory over recent world title challenger Jerry Belmontes. On March 8, he made his first appearance of 2014 an impressive one, as he defeated Puerto Rico’s Abner Cotto via unanimous decision. From there, Vargas fought on the “Honor & Glory: Canelo vs. Lara” PPV undercard and delivered a thrilling KO victory over Puerto Rican legend Juan Manuel Lopez. He followed that up with another knockout, this time in Mexico against Genaro Camargo. In 2015, Vargas headlined his first HBO event against Australian prospect Will Tomlinson in San Antonio on HBO Latino®. Vargas made it a hat trick with his third knockout victory in a row, this time an eighth-round TKO.

Serving as the co-main event to the highly anticipated Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Álvarez event on November 21, 2015, Takashi Miura vs. Francisco Vargas stole the show and received unanimous Fight of the Year nods from Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, The Bleacher Report, USA TODAY’s Boxing Junkie, The Sweet Science and Boxing Scene. The action packed fight featured knockdowns, great performances and a lot of heart from two of boxing’s’ most respected warriors. Vargas was able to claim the WBC Super Featherweight World Championship via ninth-round technical knockdown over Miura after suffering a knockdown during the fourth round. ESPN.com called the fight “the most dramatic comeback since the late Diego Corrales used a legendary 10th-round rally to stop Jose Luis Castillo and unify lightweight titles in 2005."

Vargas lost his WBC super featherweight title on January 28, 2017 to Miguel Berchelt by 11th round KO.