Cruz vs Vargas FULL FIGHT: June 19, 2021 | PBC on Showtime

esau cruz and francisco vargas placing their souls in the footprints left by the all-action little big men from mexico that have come before them you know when boxing mexicans are revered globally for their ferocious aggressiveness and indefatigable fighting spirit crews and vargas personify those attributes one of the most celebrated brawlers of the last decade engaging in back-to-back ring magazine fights of the year against takashi mura in 2015 and orlando solido in 2016 vargas won 130-pound title in 2015 by stopping mura then battled celino to an action-packed draw before losing his title to miguel burchelton another memorable affair he in fact lost twice to brazil but since those losses in 2017 and 19 he underwent surgery to address his chronic cutting around the eyes and he's won two fights both at 135 meanwhile cruz well he has he's definitely not cruised he is he's been a on a meteoric rise going 16-0 with 12 knockouts since his only pro loss in his sixth fight he announced his presence with an electrifying first round knockout over veteran diego magdaleno last september followed that up in march with a well a unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten matthias romero first time he went 12 rounds and it was an ugly foul-filled affair and right now he looks like an attack dog a pit bull that is ready to be unleashed all right i guess we know what his nickname is based on that outfit uh let's take a look now uh cruz at 5'4 is one of the shortest lightweight contenders if not the shortest and he's giving away four inches to vargas even though vargas as morrow pointed out is naturally a junior lightweight now the other number to look at here is the age of vargas at 36 is he too shopworn to battle with this young fighter we're going to find out [Music] here's jimmy lennon jr [Music] well fans from the toyota center here in houston texas premier boxing champions continues the action with a highly anticipated co-main event of the evening introducing our three judges once again all from the state of texas jesse reyes randy russell and eva saragosa introducing our referee in charge of the action he'll be giving instructions after the introductions james green all right fans here we go with the co-main event of the evening ten rounds of boxing scheduled in a lightweight special attraction introducing you first on my left he is fighting out of the red corner wearing black trucks with silver trim hailing from mexico city la ciudad de mexico he weighed in at already 134 pounds his record stands at 27 wins two losses in two draws with 19 wins coming by way of knockout ladies and gentlemen here is the wbc number seventh ranked world contender introducing the former wbc super featherweight champion of the world introducing francisco and his opponent across the ring fighting out of the blue corner in this 10-round attraction wearing blue trunks with white trim he also hails from mexico [Applause] [Music] ladies and gentlemen here's the exciting and relentless wba number three and ibf number two world rank lightweight contender introducing uh esoc pitbull crew want to get a referee in charge james green now to give instructions okay gentlemen i went over the instructions and both in the dressing room with both fighters i want you to protect yourself at all times at all times i'll be my command touch gloves back to your corners relative newcomer to refereeing james green two years as a pro speaking of green this is his 29th professional fight and it promises to be a barn burner round number one he saw cruz in the blue and white trunks francisco vargas in the black with silver trim and with all due respect to the westminster dog show uh cruz the people doesn't want to be best in show he wants to be best on showtime tonight and immediately they come together guys are you guys ready for a treat i think we're we're in for a treat against these two guys i mean styles make fights and and this both styles is just perfect you're made for each other you had me at all mexican affairs and you remember the legendary battles one of my favorites the battle of the z boys carlos alfonso zamora marco antonio barretta and eric morales is real vasquez waffle marcus hey if this is one 100th as good as any of those battles we're in for a fight of the year candidate you know cruz sparred with uh with vargas before he fought the ego mag berlin they only sparked three rounds he said though it was enough for them to base their whole fight plan on that sparring session well uh crews having a flashback to the fight against uh romero which was a well went to a wrestling match in a boxing fight almost broke out that was cruz that initiated that no no but i'm just saying that you know against romero we saw the same kind of stuff and with the way these two come at it with their heads you've got to be careful especially vargas who's had plastic surgery around the eyes and in his first fight back after surgery he got cut and still won the fight on a technical decision are you expecting many jabs in this fight abner uh i am and i would like to see more jabs coming from vargas and cruz cruz is not so much of a jabber he's just a pressure fighter looping punches and vargas has to has to jab you know stop him in his tracks i was a little sarcastic but i'll take your answer there brother i don't think we're going to see many under 45 seconds left in the opening round vargas would like to at least show that punch and there he's doing it look at the tab yeah he wants to control the range a little bit if he can and there's the uppercut that's a big weapon for vargas under 30 seconds left and like i say relatively new referee james green gonna have his hands full as these two go at it close quarters and crews putting together accommodation knocking vargas back with that left hook momentarily catching him off balance oh lining up with that right uppercut was cruise well cruz is sitting down on his punches early vargas slipped a right hand behind the guard man spiteful shots well there was lots of good legal action in that round but there was one moment where we had a takedown yeah not a knockdown no and uh cruz looked like a very good linebacker taking vargas down uh the houston texans are in need of some help let's take a look at the uh keys to victory for cruz of course he wants to make this a fire fight he wants it to be a brawl he lands 48 of his punches to the body so he wants to do that we saw the overhand right in round one a very effective weapon and across the way for vargas stay off the ropes that's a big one for him he did establish the jab a little bit in round one and most importantly in his last fight against otto gamez he won by knockout using the uppercut and we saw one of those in round one [Music] [Music] round number two scheduled for 10 at 135 pounds at 135 while cruz is continuing to move up the rankings looking to go from surging prospect to and the first cruise was very busy too throwing 65. now i know you guys aren't expecting a lot of jabs but listen look at vargas he has been establishing that jab really well it is key i was joking after i understand what you mean i'm just looking with crews he is sitting down on everything i know yes cruz is all power but vargas has the experience he's been in this wars before amen it's just every single shot is thrown with bad intentions he only lands one jab around cruz so he it's all power punching with him and he is going to whack away now one of the good things that vargas is doing is using all of this ring yes yeah and controlling the distance so uh it's not his normal way of fighting but you know what he he said i i have a plan and i'm going to use that plan at some point i'm going to have to a brawl with him but i want to use my plan round to round and maybe his best path to victory and trying to create distance and utilize that job despite the hellacious wars he's been through those were a few years ago in those back-to-back fights of the year they take a lot out of you and he hasn't been he's been forced to alter his style a bit although again against a guy like cruz at any time this could turn into a firefight absolutely especially if you did your homework when we saw a cruise against matthias i mean he got frustrated because of the movement even though it wasn't the best movement that matthias had but he gave him problems under a minute left here in the second only a three-month layoff for cruz in this day and age that's a very short time to come back doesn't have to duck a lot to get underneath the left hook again with his physical dimensions now that's another smart thing vargas is doing in the inside he's holding him down he's got a hole clash your heads from cruz wow what took him so long yeah really [Music] [Music] the owner of the houston rockets on hand for this boxing card here at the toyota center [Applause] [Music] well cruz has a very good overhand right and you see him starting out with the hook to the body and there comes that right hand over the top that's his really his signature punch and he'll use it and there you see him using it again and uh throwing that right hand to the top of vargas's head and there's jim using his head to cruise on the inside and you know that's dangerous for vargas who's cut seven times in his career [Applause] [Music] 135 pounds to all action warriors he saw cruz looking to work again behind the jab follows it up with the right hand just out of range nice left hook again ripped to the body by crews now i know francisco vargas really well we're in the same olympics team he did not make the 2004 olympics so he waited another cycle in order to go to the the olympics uh oh and he just got clipped by crews off balance and the veteran vargas holding on to home once against left-handed takashi mural when he won the title and cruz now pouring it on attacking the body of vargas and the veteran again trying to nullify who's his forward of course is a uh body shot specialist and you see the evidence of that there with those numbers and his heidi better be a bodybuilder especially that he's coming forward you know it's the best of times or worse the time for vargas he is lands 25 punches per round according to show stats which is sixth among active fighters however he gets hit 24 times a round which is the most by any active fighter final minute here in the third al bernstein turning it into a dickensian affair nicely done oh wow a wild right uppercut by crews well you made your first leprechaun reference i made my first dick in this reference and cruz and vargas well they are just looking to mark each other up at close quarters under half a minute remaining here in the third it's been a very interesting round on many levels [Music] and vargas momentarily bothered earlier in the round has been able to clear the cobwebs and utilizing veteran tactics and darting in and out with the jazz [Music] but not just one punch a staple of cruz's attack is the overhand right over he starts with the left hook the left hook of vargas he keeps his left hand low and cruz comes with the overhand right he is landing that punch a lot in this fight and landed three or four in that round but vargas had some good moments and there's the uppercut we talked about that it created a knockout in his last fight he wants to get that punch home and did there [Music] round number four scheduled for 10 at 135 pounds cruz at 23 feels like his youth is his biggest asset against a 36 year old veteran vargas who's been through myriad wars and cruz told us his youth combined with his hunger are going to be the two things that will prove to be the difference in this fight he is hungry to gain a title shot again in the last year he saw cruz went from you know what no name to now being a television staple here on showtime now yeah he's got an exciting style and i'll tell you what he is doing in this fight too he's really using his head to go after vargas don't you think abner will go after vargas i mean it's kind of obvious it is i got to say and he's used it a few times he's headbutted uh vargas but no but he's really smart in this fight he knows how the moments when to get in just like that right uppercut either the lazy jab or the overhand right and he gets in the right position to land both hey with the sweeping left hook upstairs tries to turn it into a modified headlock and again goes to the body without took overhang right clipped the jaw of this who comes back with the right of his own that was blocked and that's how he starts out he punches in the body that concentrates his punch there and then he comes up with spinners it's too bad the respective corners aren't that animated tonight with a minute during the fourth frame they are going at it this has been a pretty close round with uh you know pitbull doing some good power punching and vargas landing the uppercut on occasion [Applause] there again lead left hook to the body followed by a left hook upstairs and vargas has been eating a lot of those shots here 30 seconds left in the fourth and the the valiant effort by the veteran staying in the pocket and still looking to make it a fight landing a nice right hand vargas so he's gotten that punch in from time to time as well it hasn't been that bad around for vargas cruz has had his moments again with that left hook but you're right it's right i got to demand incremental improvement in any case come on break it up we are through four scheduled for 10 here in houston and former super lightweight champion regis program on hand taking in the action here amongst the thousands of fans at the toyota center home of the rockets and a man who is well continuing to be a rocket at 160 pounds he wants to be the man at 160 begging to get the biggest fights and tonight jamal charlo hoping to culminate one of the most memorable weeks in his life with another memorable victory here against jose montiel and on thursday he and his family were at the ballpark as jamal was set to throw out the first pitch at an astros game and al he skipped it he got there on one bounce but it got there and the mascot made a nice play by the way as a former catcher i appreciated that and jamal charlo instead of the first pitch he'll be looking to hit his opponent harder than jose altuve's been hitting the baseball lately in our main event round five scheduled for 10. you know we asked at the fighter meetings we asked vargas whether he stayed at 1 30 a little too long in his career should have come up to 135 earlier and he said you know maybe but this is his third fight at this weight class and he's hanging in there against a very strong lightweight he may not be winning but he's hanging in there and doing some good work vargas has been stopped twice by miguel burchell and has taken some shots from cruz but vargas now is delivering some shots of his own and then again though that jab momentarily staggered many god in the fifth it's just that moment where he gets lazy i think he throws it one two and and cuz it's easy to land the overhand left or overhand right in some ways he seems more like the veteran doesn't yes he may be picked up from the romero fight in that regard i think so yeah the reflex is not quite there for vargas as we saw moments ago where he tried to count a bunch of cruise but final minute of the fifth vargas so many battles so many cuts and facial swelling and the age here he is at 36 hanging in there with a 23 year old upstart standing in the danger zone and at times giving as good as he's getting here over and white got there again for cruz and that's become a [Applause] [Music] all a mexican battle here at 135 pounds as we reach the halfway point at the toyota center in houston texas still to come jamal charlo defending the middleweight title against juan montiello you gotta be careful take your time be smart with your head see who's smarter in there mid distance mid distance well with two cuts now one over each eye here you see a clash of heads we've seen this a number of times now that one i'm not going to blame crews for that when they both came in and there's the ice uppercut by vargas those it's what she wants to land but that clash of heads uh clearly a problem vargas told us that he is a warrior and tonight people are going to remember the reasons why he was in the two fight of the year battles although for his own career sake i think what he's doing now with the game plan and working behind the jab is is going to behoove him in the long tonight he is fighting in a more tactical way than uh arturo that's good trying to prolong his career and smart man come here at the halfway point of this 10th round lightweight up here our unofficial score steve fard was scoring tonight's fights remotely as cruz pitching the shutout so he's doing a better job of pitching i guess than jamal charlotte in that uh first pitch yeah i don't know that even though there have been a lot of competitive moments in this fight you can make a case for steve scoring because cruz has done a little bit more in most of these rounds so the question is has he done it in all of them and there again leading to the body with the left hook going upstairs with the right hand but alameda does come back with some shots but they aren't as eye-catching aren't as powerful as cruz's shots but now turning it into that fight though wow what a right hand by vargas in this round he's landing better though more power punches than he has previously i was just gonna say this is six rounds so this is where you see either the youth yep from cruz or the experience from vargas and then it's showing a little bit of both i think vargas are coming along in this round showing us something at least left in the sixth but if he wants to take the round he's gotta invest liver left uppercut on the inside scored for alameda just missed with the right uppercut but in close having some success under 30 seconds and cruz yeah is the bully in this fight tonight and again lots of space in between cruises punches and marcus can time him there's a lane open down the middle and alameda lands a one-two but then he's knocked back by cruz [Music] seven-time nfl pro bowler andre johnson former houston texan receiving some love from the crowd here in h-town you're working good you keep working like that [Music] round number seven scheduled for 10. he saw cruz 1601 with 12 knockouts since his only pro loss in his sixth fight while francisco vargas former 130 pound belt holder 2-0 since moving up to 135 both of those tune-up fights doing a good job with the jab he starts off really well but you know he's got to throw something behind that the right hand it can't be as slow as he's throwing it now he's got to come back with something behind that right hand as well oh triple and alameda having some success now with the left and there's a nice left hook curling behind the guard of elevator bike cruising some shoulder strikes there from he saw crews on the inside [Applause] cruz is using the jab a little bit more now in this fight even trying to work his way in and even in the midst of even uh you know vargas having a little bit of a rally and a really good one by the way he's jabbing to the stomach and francisco vargas coming back upstairs with accommodation and now at close vargas going upstairs last two rounds of this fight have been very entertaining fantastic stuff here between esa cruz and francisco vargas yeah if you're a bargain you don't want to stay there who's being the smaller guy that that's where he wants to be you want to land those overhang rights those looping punches [Applause] double jab gets through the guard for vargas but it's a double jab from vargas and then cruz comes in with these vicious overhand right right i got y'all got to let me [Applause] [Music] moving to his left vargas took the uppercuts in this round he's been landing them but cruz doing a little holding and hitting another veteran move from the youngster not entirely legal and cranking his head in there too now cruz we've talked about his overhand right but that left hook was excellent as well [Music] and abner the uppercuts from vargas have been impressive as they have been and whenever he lets go of the uppercuts because he's he's too concentrated on landing a one-two punch he's gotta he's gotta let go of those uppercuts as well punches like cruz's corner i thought there would be much more output from the power puncher but cruz continues to move forward here what did you think about the instructions in the corner abner good job i think um you know they're telling vargas one thing and another thing is that he can't react his body you know i think that he's not he's not being able to lick all of his punches again he's just relying on a 1-2 and and it's it's cruz that's doing the damage with the bodywork again we talked about the wars that vargas has been in salido twice i mean i'll talk fights and here he is at 36. against a young up-and-comer known for his power and he saw cruz and francisco vargas hanging tough and taking the fight now to cruise on the ropes see these fighters as they've gone past round seven uh vargas was obviously a lot more experience he's been 12 rounds uh several times in uh t fights and so it's you know we'll see how they go and who's taking the most punishment as we go forward making these rounds competitive but not winning any of them [Music] cruz is known as a good body puncture and he's landed 49 body punches in this fight and so that's been impressive for him final minute of the 8th we are scheduled for 10 in the 135 pound weight class and cruz with his eyes on a future title shot at his height five four 145 pound titleist guys like ray mancini the legendary tony kansaneri and leo dorian who was in the first showbox main event in july 2001 perhaps and the first showbox alum to win a world title and happy 20th anniversary for showbox the new generation and stevie johnson also a five foot four-inch champion so good luck and crews coming forward leaping with that right and left back in vargas to the ropes as we come to the end of round number eight [Music] still to come the main event where juan montiel looks to author a huge upset a prohibitive underdog but he is 3-0-1 since moving up to 160 pounds in september 2017 most recently scored a first-round knockout victory over the shophorn james kirkland in december of 2020 all 22 of his wins have come via form of knockout and yes he is counting on the proverbial punchers chance and here at the toyota center in houston showtime championship boxing bringing you a triple header still to come the main event jamal charlo defending his middleweight title against juan montiel mauro ronaldo along with al bernstein abner matas brian custer jim gray and our entire showtime championship boxing crew as we are now into round number nine will it turn into that all mexican brawl that we have anticipated or will vargas continue to try to be the veteran and try to utilize the fundamentals to stay alive in this fight oh and he's getting tagged now by cruz we've seen elements of that exciting fire fight but vargas has tried to keep it from being exactly that the question is has it won in many rounds not too many probably and that jab of crews beginning to pop vargas's head back and now vargas also becoming too repetitive also you know jab jab right hand and crew's noticing that and waiting for him and that's why he's been being affected with the overhand rights in favor of cruz by six points so it's looking more and more like vargas would have to become the first person to stop isaac cruz and in terms of output he saw crews nice left hook upstairs by cruz vargas has landed his best right hands and he just haven't moved uh cruz [Applause] vargas has thrown more punches but cruz has landed more here at midpoint of round number nine another stiff jab by cruz what's going on man right hand but the left hook has been mixed in very effectively as well oh he leads everything with that left hook and just tagged vargas on the jaw with a sweeping left hook short right uppercut on the inside he's still using his head in there in fact he almost had blooded greens interesting let's talk about the varga's great chinos he has been eating a lot of punches yeah he's only been down once that was against miura and cruz has never hit the canvas under 30 seconds left in the night ripping tenth and final round straight ahead [Music] [Music] is don't just get in front of him move to the side move to the other side you got him already you got him already last round okay okay fight with your brain think in there [Applause] tenth and a final round esau cruz in the blue and white trunks francisco vargas the former 130 pound champion in his third fight at 135 he's in the black with silver trim if you're a cruise you want to go out there and just close the show and if your vargas will try to survive trying to get not to get hit as much cruz wants to continue his climb in the 135 pound weight class well for vargas at age 36 though he wants to make something happen and he'd love that if he could find if he's landed his best right hands and they haven't heard cruz but he would hope maybe an uppercut or something would get in there and turn this around 19 of his 27 wins have come via form of knockout for 15 of his 21 victories have come inside the distance and for vargas you know he's had a weight class above where he's normally been and he wasn't a monstrous knockout puncher below at 130 good puncher but not a huge knockout punch left hook lands upstairs for crews just never really got out of first gear and the interesting thing is vargas has thrown about 50 some more punches than cruz but cruz has been more accurate with his punches and has landed 43 of his power punches just past the midway point of the tenth and final round again left took to the body followed by the right hand upstairs by cruz and again that right hand tagged vargas in his 24th professional fight taking on battle tested veteran francisco vargas another clash of heads and a cut around the right eye of vargas i think honestly i think a point should have been taken away from chris he won this fight he's winning this fight but he doesn't need the extra kirk activities but he's doing it constantly again and that was that looked deliberate to me i gotta be honest [Applause] that's a bad [Applause] he underwent extensive plastic surgery [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] crews now smelling blood on the attack crews unloading on francisco fargus and the fistic fireworks that we anticipated are coming to fruition you're in the 10th and right referee rules [Applause] we talked about how green the referee james green was and man he may have found himself in over his head in the final moments of this and let's remind people the doctor when he when he had the opportunity with all due respect that was a bizarre decision wow not a doctor but and the knockout yeah he saw the time he knew that there was 30 seconds left oh yeah that wasn't [Music] right in this round there were a number of clashes of heads which to be perfectly honest in my opinion cruz was initiating we'll see if i'm wrong never albert does not happen on occasion there's a head that got in there and uh you know he's was leading with his head and remember earlier in the the the fight many times when he was on the inside he was using his head yes he always comes in with his head first yeah and you know that can happen but i think the the part that was insidious was on the inside when he was using his head all the time and and he never got a warning yeah yeah maybe one or two but certainly not a point deducted and was it a legitimate knockdown here uh vargas said he was pushed down let's see and of course another clash of heads but uh and another clash of cats and another clash of heads wow and then there was some there was a left hand that got in there and a body punch i i don't know if you will see when he goes down good work by cruz on the inside when he destroying his punches and the horrendous cut that we see again crews saw the opportunity yeah you saw the man heard cut and you wanted to go for the stoppage yeah and there were some punches landed but it's hard to tell i don't know in any case oh my goodness [Music] look at the numbers and what we'll see here um is uh baltimore being pretty active and the power punches clearly an edge to uh crews and body punches of course he normally lands a large percentage of his punches normally 48 it was close to that uh in fact you know in this instance and he did better work fergus did land his share of punches and he threw a little bit more so vargas had his moments in his fight it's just they weren't uh sustained let's get the official decision here is jimmy lennon jr ladies and gentlemen after 10 rounds of action we have a unanimous decision here are the score totals judge of ringside jessie reyes scores about 97 to 92 randy russell sees it 99 to 90. and eva saragosa scores about 100 to 89. all three in favor of the winner esoc pit bull cruise well he saw pitbull cruz at times made it more like a pit fight as he wins over francisco vargas improving to 22-1-1 while vargas tastes defeat for the first time at 1 35.

Channel: Premier Boxing Champions

Views: 2,357,361

Keywords: Boxing, PBC, premier boxing champions, ko, tko, knockouts, fighter, boxer, mayweather, al haymon, showtime boxing, wilder, thurman, spence, porter, broner, fighting, best of, highlights, wbo, wba, wbc, ibo, ibf, boxing highlights, isaac cruz, fernando vargas, isaac cruz vs fernando vargas, isaac cruz vs fernando vargas full fight, isaac cruz vs fernando vargas highlight, isaac cruz vs fernando vargas fight, isaac pitbull cruz, isaac cruz vs gervonta davis, isaac cruz fights, saac cruz boxing

Id: 2k9cK6Uo0oY

Length: 48min 41sec (2921 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 05 2022