In a throwback to the days of old when matchups between young hot prospects were the rule and not the exception, “King” Callum Walsh and Fernando Vargas, Jr. -- two undefeated southpaws on the road to stardom in the junior middleweight division -- square off in a non-title contest in Las Vegas on Sept. 13.
The scheduled 10-rounder is the co-feature to the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford super middleweight blockbuster at the Allegiant Stadium. The card, to be streamed by Netflix, is expected to attract a viewing audience of more than 300 million subscribers globally.
Walsh [14-0, 11 KOs] holds the WBC super welterweight Continental Americas title. He will enter the ring four years younger than Vargas, a 17-0 [15 KO] Mexican-American who’s 28.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than being the co-feature to Canelo-Crawford,” Tom Loeffler, Walsh’s promoter, told The Ring Magazine. “You have two young, undefeated, hungry, exciting boxers fighting each other. That’s what boxing needs. Boxing needs these types of fights for the fans. This is what the fans wanna see.
"They’re both risking their undefeated records. They could easily continue to fight and continue to be undefeated for years to come, but this is a very dangerous fight for both of them.”
While defeat will be a setback for the loser in their quest for a world title shot, the stakes are higher for Walsh. He’s ranked #4 in the 154-pound division by the IBF, #5 by the WBC, and #14 by the WBO, while Vargas – whose father and trainer, Fernando, Sr., was a junior middleweight world champion – is not ranked in the top 15 of any of the major sanctioning bodies.
It’s perhaps in recognition of this that the Freddie Roach-trained Walsh is a firm 4-1 favorite in several betting parlors.
Loeffler, the president of 360 Promotions, is expecting early fireworks.
“Callum’s a very fast starter,” he told The Ring. “Callum starts out from the very first round with all guns blazing. And Vargas Jr. has a lotta knockouts on his record as well, so he’s not gonna be running.
“I think you’ll see a lot of big punches thrown very early in this fight. You’ve also got very passionate fan bases, with the Mexican-American fans supporting Vargas and Irish fans supporting Callum.”
In a question and answer session with Sports Illustrated, Walsh dismissed Vargas’ prediction that he’d knock him out.
“I don’t think Fernando Vargas, Jr. has the ability to knock me out. I think he is a very average fighter in this division,” the Corkman said. “I am looking to go out there and prove that I am not an average fighter. I have dedicated my entire life, and I am a lot better than the average fighter. This is the biggest fight of his life, and it’s just a stepping stone for me.”
On if there were any added expectations from Dana White, UFC president and CEO, who heads the group promoting him, Walsh told SI:
“I presume everybody has expectations, they put me in the co-main event for a reason. They know that I can shine under the big lights.
The pressure will not get to me. I will go there and I’ll perform and I will win. They wouldn’t put me in there if they didn’t think I was good. So, I’ll go take the opportunity with both hands and go and perform.”
He added that fighting in front of 65,000 fans at Allegiant Stadium would boost his performance.
“I will take in the energy of the crowd, of the event, I think I will embrace it, and I will perform even better,” Walsh noted.
