Writer\’s Predictions: Fernando Vargas vs. Javier Castillejo

This is an interesting crossroads fight for two former light middle weight champions. Vargas has already comeback from one shattering defeat at the hands of Felix Trinidad, only to have his titles and hopes snuffed out again by Oscar De La Hoya. This may

be the last go round for the intensly proud warrior from Oxnard, California and it’s fascinating to watch and see just how far Vargas can go this time. Castillejo will come to fight and do his best to insure that the newest version of Fernando Vargas does not get past him. The man from Madrid has twice as much experience as his much younger opponent and will have to use that to try and repeat the success both Trinidad and De La Hoya enjoyed against Vargas.

We’re also covering the undercard of this bout, an interesting featherweight contest between Ricardo “Rocky” Juarez and Humberto Soto for the Interim WBC title.

The winner of these fights will move on to contend for a major world title but you’ll have to read our writer’s expert predicitions to find out just who will prevail and go onto reshape their respective weight classes.

Fernando Vargas vs. Javier Castillejo…

Lee Bellfield
I’ve tried to break the fight and circumstances down in my preview analysis. As stated there, I think Vargas still has plenty to offer the 154 pound division even though he has suffered 2 damaging high profile defeats.
Castillejo is made for Vargas in my opinion and I think that Ferocious will have too much variety for him en route to clinching a lop sided unanimous decision.

Shaun Rico LaWhorn
Fernando Vargas, (25-2, 22 KO’s) at one point and time in his boxing career, had the chance many young fighters would jump off a bridge for; being able to make a lot of money and earn titles in the process. With injuries and inactivity, Vargas has had his share of letdowns but the fighter in him refuses to walk away from his still promising career. Vargas has his defining line of making it back in the big fight talks, if he can defeat Javier Castillejo (58-5, 39 KO’s). From Oscar De La Hoya to Ronald “Winky” Wright, Vargas can use these two potential rematches as inspiration to step it up. This fight with Castillejo lands right in the summer of surprises and screwed up judge’s scorecards, so Vargas needs to make this win as convincing as his early career, when he went 17-0 with 17 knockouts. At the age of twenty-seven, Vargas is still young and I think his maturity and ring generalship will be at its peak while facing Castillejo. This fight will be very interesting, because Castillejo has the experience and active record along with the ring intelligence to control the pace of this fight. Expect the early rounds to be Castillejo’s, as he will dictate the overall aggressiveness of this fight. As the action enters the middle rounds, Vargas’ confidence will step out and he will start to feel more comfortable and land some meaningful shots. This will back Castillejo up some and Vargas will take this advantage into the latter rounds, as he will clearly show the judges why he should earn this win in the fashion of a unanimous decision.

Rey Sambolin
“Ferocious” Fernando Vargas returns to the ring on Saturday, August 20th, where he’ll be facing veteran Spaniard Javier Castillejo. This will be Castillejo’s first fight in over a year, since he TKO’d Uruguay’s Enrique Campos on June 2004 in Spain. At 27 years of age, Vargas enjoys a most definite age advantage over the 37-year old Castillejo. While Castillejo (58-5-0, 39 KO’s) has more ring experience than Vargas (25-2-0, 22 KO’s), it is Vargas who has the definite advantage in the quality of opponents faced. The “Who’s Who” list of previous Vargas opponents includes: Campas, Marquez, Wright, Quartey, Trinidad and De la Hoya. Whereas Castillejo’s most notable opponents are De la Hoya, to whom he lost a unanimous decision in 2001, and Roman Karmazin.

In this contest, I would definitely give the edge to Vargas. His previous personal problems and steroid issues notwithstanding, Vargas still remains a formidable boxer-puncher with a lot of boxing years still ahead of him. For all of Castillejo’s experience, this will be only his second fight in the U.S. (De la Hoya was the first) after a career based mostly on fights in his home country. Home court advantage: Vargas. Even Castillejo’s most celebrated battle, against Oscar de la Hoya, was fought at 154 pounds, most definitely not Oscar’s best weight.While some feel Vargas may be slightly battle-worn from his epic losses to Trinidad and De la Hoya, it may be his state of mind that will determine the outcome of this fight. If Vargas is truly on the comeback trail and his head is on straight, I don’t see the fight going the distance.Prediction: Vargas by late round TKO.

Curtis McCormick
This fight is all about how Fernando Vargas wants to run the show. I think he’ll want to put a serious pace on Castillejo to see if the 37 year old can keep up. He’ll have to make the Spaniard work but at the same time he can’t just walk in and throw as Castillejo needs that kind of fight to thrive. Despite Vargas’ power
and finishing instincts, I see Castillejo as being able to last the distance in a losing effort similar to his bout with Oscar several years back. Vargas by unanimous decision.

Ricardo “Rocky” Juarez vs. Humberto Soto

Lee Bellfield
Big chance for Juarez to finally get on the big stage. Unbeaten in 23 professional fights since turning pro in 2001 with such scalps as Espadas Jnr and Ramirez, Juarez now needs to make his name on the world stage. His opponent Humberto Soto has a patch record, losing 5 and drawing 2 of his 44 bouts, with the biggest name on his pro record is a loss to Kevin Kelley in 2002. All the credentials in this bout belong to Ricardo Juarez who I think has too much smarts to lose this one. Unbeaten as a pro, I don’t see how he will lose this fight. Soto seems to be durable so I think he will drop a unanimous decision.

Shaun Rico LaWhorn
Rocky Juarez (23-0, 16 KO’s) is a featherweight in a division that has talented fighters in every aspect of boxing. If it’s power shots, you have Joan Guzman, if it’s boxing 101, you have Juan Marquez, and Scott Harrison, Chris John and Injin Chi are boxers who hold warrior attitudes when entering a fight. Juarez is in a weight class that is both competitive and challenging. Humberto Soto (36-5, 21 KO’s) almost has as many knockouts as Juarez has wins. I am a supporter of a boxer taking his time in developing his career and this match fits right under that program of progression for Juarez. This fight will surely place Juarez into serious contention for future fights against Guzman, Marquez, Harrison, John or Chi. Experience will be a factor in the early rounds, as Soto is aware of Juarez boxing skills and accurate power. Soto will keep the punches at a minimal with hopes of figuring out Juarez’s offense. Juarez in turn, will guide his punches in combinations and will land a few. Rounds five and six will be the start of Juarez’s power punches and this will put Soto down. Determination will help Soto get up and he will use his boxing abilities to keep him in the fight until the end. Juarez will graduate into the bigger fight opportunities after this win, which will come by the way of the scorecards.

By Sergio Martinez
Soto is seen as more of a buzz kill than a real fight and that is just not the case. I am the first to admit that I would rather see “Rocky” fighting Injin Chi because that fight had “explosion” written all over it, but “La Zorrita” is not a bad “Plan B”. Soto is a solid veteran fighter who, although no where near as strong as the Korean buzz saw, is a taller, more mobile technician who possess better boxing skills than Chi. Still, unless Juarez has a let down, or is just not taking “La Zorrita” seriously, he should be able to handle Soto. “Rocky” should apply the pressure, and stop Humberto Armando within the

Curtis McCormick
Rocky Juarez has great success when he has an opponent who stands in front of him as the Texan is very strong with one of the better body attacks in the sport. I think this fight lasts as long as Humberto Soto decides not to stand and slug it out with Juarez. If the Mexican decides to begin the fight with a trade in the trenches, this may not last long. If he begins cautiously and picks his spots the bout will go longer. I do think at some point either fatigue or pride will cause Soto to stop moving and that’s when Juarez will go to work. I see Juarez as stopping Soto in the middle rounds.