WBC Special Preview: Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball
WBC STATISTICS
WBC Featherweight World Championship
March 8, 2024 / Riyadh, Saudi Arabia / Kingdom Arena
MATCHROOM BOXING PRESENTS:
REY VARGAS (Mexico)
WBC Featherweight World Champion, 1st Title Defense
Former WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion / 5 Title Defenses
Age: 33 / Date of birth: November 25, 1990
Residence: Otumba, México, Mexico / Birthplace: Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Record: 36-1, 22 KOs / Total rounds: 234 / World championship fights: 7-1, 0 KOs
Height: 5’7” – 172cm / Reach: 70.5” – 179cm / Stance: Right-handed
Trainer: Carlos Vargas
Advisor: Al Haymon
Promoter: Premier Boxing Champion
NICK BALL (UK)
Ranked WBC No. 1 at Featherweight / Mandatory Challenger
WBC Silver Featherweight Champion, 4 Title Defenses
Age: 27 / Date of birth: February 28, 1997
Residence, birthplace: Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Record: 19-0, 11 KOs / Total rounds: 90
Height: 5’2” – 157cm / Reach: 65” – 165cm / Stance: Right-handed
Trainer: Paul Stevenson
Manager: Frank Warren
Promoter: Queensberry Promotions
WBC FEATHERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONS:
1. Davey Moore (US) + 1963
2. Ultiminio Ramos (Mex) 1963 – 1964
3. Vicente Saldivar (Mex) + 1964 – 1967
4. Howard Winstone (Wales) + 1968
5. Jose Legra (Cuba) 1968 – 1969
6. Johnny Famechon (Fran) 1969 – 1970
7. Vicente Saldivar (Mex) * + 1970
8. Kuniaki Shibata (Japan) 1970 – 1972
9. Clemente Sanchez (Mex) + 1972
10. Jose Legra (Cuba) * 1972 – 1973
11. Eder Jofre (Bra) 1973
12. Bobby Chacon (US) 1974 – 1975
13. Ruben Olivares (Mex) 1975
14. David Kotey (Ghana) 1975 – 1976
15. Danny Lopez (US) 1976 – 1980
16. Salvador Sanchez (Mex) + 1980 – 1982
17. Juan Laporte (P. Rico( 1982 – 1984
18. Wilfredo Gomez (P. Rico) 1984
19. Azumah Nelson (Ghana) 1984 – 1987
20. Jeff Fenech (Aust) 1988 – 1990
21. Marcos Villasana (Mex) 1990 – 1991
22. Paul Hodkinson (GB) 1991 – 1993
23. Goyo Vargas (Mex) 1993
24. Kevin Kelley (US) 1993 – 1995
25. Alejandro Gonzalez (Mex) 1995
26. Manuel Medina (Mex) 1995
27. Luisito Espinosa (Phil) 1995 – 1999
28. Cesar Soto (Mex) 1999
29. Naseem Hamed (GB) 1999
30. Guty Espadas (Mex) 2000 – 2001
31. Erik Morales (Mex) 2001 – 2002
32. Marco Antonio Barrera (Mex) 2002
33. Erik Morales (Mex) * 2002 – 2003
34. Injin Chi (Korea) 2004 – 2006
35. Takashi Koshimoto (Japan) 2006
36. Humberto Soto (Mex) Interim 2005 – 2006
37. Rodolfo Lopez (Mex) 2006
38. Injin Chi (Korea) * 2006
39. Jorge Linares (Ven) 2007
40. Oscar Larios (Mex) 2008 – 2009
41. Tahakahiro Aoh (Jap) 2009
42. Elio Rojas (Dom. R.) 2010
43. Hozumi Hasegawa (Jap) 2010 – 2011
44. Jhonny Gonzalez (Mex) 2011 – 2012
45. Daniel Ponce de Leon Mex) 2012 – 2013
46. Abner Mares (US) 2013
47. Jhonny Gonzalez (Mex)* 2013 – 2015
48.- Oscar Escandón (Col) Interim 2016-2017
49. Gary Russell Jr. (US) 2015 – 2022
50. Mark Magsayo (Phil) 2022
51. Rey Vargas (Mex) 2022 –
52. Brandon Figueroa (USA) Interim 2023 –
* Regained
WBC FEATHERWEIGHT TOP 10 CHAMPIONS
1. Salvador Sanchez (Mexico) +
2. Azumah Nelson (Ghana)
3. Erik Morales (Mexico)
4. Marco Antonio Barrera (Mexico)
5. Vicente Saldivar (Mexico) +
6. Ultiminio Ramos (Mexico/Cuba)
7. Davey Moore (United States) +
8. Danny Lopez (United States)
9. Jeff Fenech (Australia)
10. Marcos Villasana (Mexico)
MEMORABLE WBC FEATHERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTS
July 9, 2022 Rey Vargas W12 Mark Magsayo – San Antonio, Texas
Jan. 22, 2022 Mark Magsayo W12 Gary Russell Jr. – Atlantic City, New Jersey
Feb. 8, 2020 Gary Russell Jr. W12 Tugstsogt Nyambayar – Allentown, Pennsylvania
May 19, 2018 Gary Russell Jr. W12 Joseph Diaz – Oxon Hill, Maryland
Mar. 28, 2015 Gary Russell Jr. TKO4 Jhonny Gonzalez – Las Vegas, Nevada
Aug. 24, 2013 Jhonny Gonzalez KO1 Abner Mares – Carson, California
May 4, 2013 Abner Mares TKO9 Daniel Ponce de Leon – Las Vegas, Nevada
April 8, 2011 Jhonny Gonzalez TKO4 Hozumi Hasegawa – Kobe, Japan
Nov. 26, 2010 Hozumi Hasegawa W12 Juan Carlos Burgos – Nagoya, Japan
Mar. 12, 2009 Takahiro Ao W12 Oscar Larios – Tokyo, Japan
May 31, 2008 Oscar Larios TKO5 Feider Viloria – Chetumal, Mexico
July 21, 2007 Jorge Linares TKO10 Oscar Larios – Las Vegas Nevada
Aug. 20, 2005 Humberto Soto W12 Rocky Juarez – Rosemont, Illinois
April 10, 2004 In-Jin Chi KO7 Michael Brodie – Manchester, England
Nov. 16, 2002 Erik Morales W12 Paulie Ayala – Las Vegas, Nevada
June 22, 2002 Marco Antonio Barrera W12 Erik Morales – Las Vegas, Nevada
July 28, 2001 Erik Morales W12 In-Jin Chi – Los Angeles, California
Oct. 22, 1999 Naseem Hamed W12 Cesar Soto – Detroit, Michigan
Jan. 7, 1995 Alejandro Gonzalez TKO10 Kevin Kelley – San Antonio, Texas
May 6, 1994 Kevin Kelley W12 Jesse Benavides – Atlantic City, New Jersey
April 28, 1993 Goya Vargas TKO7 Paul Hodkinson – Dublin, Ireland
Nov. 13, 1991 Paul Hodkinson W12 Marcos Villasana – Belfast, Northern Ireland
Aug. 15, 1991 Marcos Villasana W12 Ricardo Cepeda – Marbella, Spain
April 8, 1989 Jeff Fenech W12 Marcos Villasana – Melbourne, Australia
Dec. 12, 1984 Azumah Nelson KO11 Wilfredo Gomez – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Mar. 31, 1984 Wilfredo Gomez W12 Juan Laporte – San Juan, Puerto Rico
July 21, 1982 Salvador Sanchez TKO15 Azumah Nelson – New York, New York
Aug. 21, 1981 Salvador Sanchez TKO8 Wilfredo Gomez – Las Vegas, Nevada
June 21, 1980 Salvador Sanchez TKO14 Danny Lopez – Las Vegas, Nevada
June 17, 1979 Danny Lopez KO15 Mike Ayala – San Antonio, Texas
June 20, 1975 Ruben Olivares TKO2 Bobby Chacon – Inglewood, California
March 1, 1975 Bobby Chacon KO2 Jesus Estrada – Los Angeles, California
Oct. 21, 1973 Eder Jofre KO4 Vicente Saldivar – Salvador, Brazil
May 9, 1970 Vicente Saldivar W15 Johnny Famechon – Rome, Italy
Mar. 21, 1963 Sugar Ramos TKO10 Davey Moore – Los Angeles, California
WBC TITLE FIGHTS IN SAUDI ARABIA
5 WBC Fights Have Been Held in Saudi Arabia
#VargasBall will be the 6th WBC Fight in Saudi Arabia
Fights by division
Heavy 1
Cruiser 1
Lt. Heavy 1
Supermiddle 1
Feather 1
TOTAL 5
28/09/2018 CALLUM SMITH – GEORGE GROVES (DIAMOND) KO 7 JEDDAH SM
12/07/2019 LERATO DLAMINI – DAVE PEÑALOSA (SILVER) UD 12 JEDDAH FE
20/08/2022 CALLUM SMTH – MATHIEU BAUDERLIQUE (ELIM.) KO 4 JEDDAH LH
26/02/2023 BADOU JACK – ILUNGA MAKABU (VOL.) TKO 12 DIRIYAH CR
28/10/2023 TYSON FURY – FRANCIS NGANNOU (SPECIAL EVGENT) SD 10 RIYADH HE
WBC TITLE FIGHTS MEXICO vs. UK
THERE HAV BEEN 47 WBC TITLE FIGHTS BETWEEN MEXICO – GREAT BRITAIN
MEXICO HAS WON 33 BOUTS / UNITED KINGDOM HAS WON 13
1 No Contest
MEMORABLE MEXICO VS UK FIGHTS
07/09/1965 VICENTE SALDIVAR – HOWARD WINSTONE DEC 15 LONDON FE
12/12/1969 RUBEN OLIVARES – ALAN RUDKIN TKO 2 INGLEWOOD BA
06/12/1975 JOHN STRACEY – JOSE NAPOLES TKO 6 MEXICO CITY WE
22/06/1976 CARLOS PALOMINO – JOHN H. STRACEY TKO 12 LONDON WE
19/09/1980 LUPE PINTOR – JOHNNY OWEN TKO 12 LOS ANGELES BA
12/12/1981 SALVADOR SANCHEZ – PAT COWDELL DEC 15 HOUSTON FE
28/10/1987 JORGE VACA – LLOYD HONEYGHAN TDEC 8 LONDON WE
29/03/1988 LLOYD HONEYGHAN – JORGE VACA KO 3 LONDON WE
28/04/1993 GOYO VARGAS – PAUL HODKINSON TKO 7 DUBLIN FE
18/12/1993 JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ – ANDY HOLLIGAN TKO 6 PUEBLA SL
30/03/1996 WAYNE MCCULLOUGH – JOSE LUIS BUENO DEC 12 DUBLIN BA
11/01/1997 DANIEL ZARAGOZA – WAYNE MCCULLOUGH DEC 12 BOSTON SB.
22/10/1999 NASEEM HAMED – CESAR SOTO DEC 12 DETROIT FE
22/10/1999 ERIK MORALES – WAYNE MCCULLOUGH DEC 12 DETROIT SB
07/05/2016 SAUL ALVAREZ – AMIR KHAN KO 6 LAS VEGAS MI
28/01/2017 LEO SANTA CRUZ – CARL FRAMPTON (DIAMOND) MD 12 LAS VEGAS FE
25/02/2017 REY VARGAS – GAVIN MCDONNELL (VACANT) MD 12 YORKSHIRE FE
15/12/2018 SAUL ALVAREZ – ROCKY FIELDING (SPECIAL EVENT) TKO 3 NEW YORK SM
29/02/2020 JULIO CESAR MARTINEZ – JAY HARRIS (VOL) UD 12 FRISCO FL
06/05/2023 SAUL ALVAREZ – JOHN RYDER (WBO INTERIM CHAM.) UD 12 GUADALAJARA SM
WBC Stats By Luis Medina
Distancing a “Wrecking Ball”
By James Blears
World Boxing Council featherweight champion Rey Vargas is determined not to come up short against stocky Nick “Wrecking” Ball, by distancing himself, whilst defending his title on March 8th at the Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.
It’s part of the prestigious Riyadh Season and this Bill for Ball and Vargas, is enticingly entitled: Knockout Chaos” also starring Anthony Joshua Vs Francis Ngannou. What a night will unfurl, unfold and uncoil.
Compact Ball who is the WBC Silver Champion comes into this with a 19-0, 11 KO record. He stands just five feet two inches tall and has a reach of 59.6 inches. That hasn’t hampered the fresh faced twenty six year old, who is noted for his power while facing all manner of opponents who come in all shapes and sizes.
The Merseyside marauder boldly states: “I can box, I can fight, but my strength is all action. I’m ready to make statements and it has been a long time in the coming. I’m letting every featherweight on the planet know that I’m coming for them. Just line them up and I’ll knock them out!”
He’s aiming to transform silver into gold tinged with green. Hardly alchemy, but it will require vulcanized steel, amounting to appreciably even more than a sterling silver performance!
Standing fair and square and loftily in his way, as well as more than ready to test his own mettle, is seasoned, savvy, burnished and wily Rey Vargas, who is five feet seven and a half inches tall and has an albatross- like reach of seventy and a half inches. Rey’s record also extends appreciably longer, as it’s 36-1, 22 KO’s.
Rey a former WBC super -bantamweight champion, and he won the WBC featherweight title by defeating Mark Magsayo, getting up from a ninth round knockdown to win a split decision. But then he came up short in an ambitious attempt to win the vacant WBC super-featherweight against robust O’Shaquie Foster, who outboxed, outfoxed and outmuscled him on the night to win a UD. Rey is now back at a weight which better suits his lanky frame and to which he’s determined to apply his flexible and agile state of mind.
He stayed cool to win the WBC super -bantamweight title by MD, against Gavin McDonnell at the Ice Ring, Hull in chilly Yorkshire, and five successful defenses followed, including a UD win over former WBO bantamweight champion Tomoki Kameda, before chancing his arm to win the next division against Maygaso in a veritable firefight, after firstly testing the waters with a UD victory against Leonardo Baez.
Rey is a maestro of distance boxing, fully utilizing his long reach. To have success Ball, who is aiming to go further than just nicking it, will have to get past that long wingspan and land often on an elusive target.
Nick won the WBC Silver featherweight title with a sixth round TKO of Isaac Lowe, who was down in the second and suffered a cut above his left eye a round later. In his first defense Nick dug deep to win with a twelfth round TKO of Nathanial Kakololo, who stood a head and shoulders taller than him. A right hook, followed by an even bigger left wobbled the Namibian who turned his back and it was stopped at 1.27.
Then a much shorter night against Mexican Jesus Ramirez Rubio who was down three times en route to a first round TKO defeat. Ludumo Lamati was TKO’s in the twelfth when his corner threw in the towel and he was taken to hospital. But mercifully no lasting damage.
Nick’s most recent fight was a UD victory against former WBO super-bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe who was down in the fourth. Nick won via a convincing UD. He’d do well to note that Rey has stopped twenty two opponents and can bang a bit himself.
Aged twenty six, Nick is seven years younger than Rey. This fight will be a significant step up in class for him and will test him as never before. So far he’s passed every test and done everything asked of him. The biggest and tallest test now faces him. Rey must keep this fight at distance, denying the younger man the opportunity to get in close, where he’s aiming to be…toe to toe.
Rey whose home is Otumba, State of Mexico near the pyramids of the Sun and Moon, trains at altitude. He’s going to need that perpetual non- stop energy level which it provides, because Nick never stops surging forward throwing clusters of punches from all angles. Rey’s key will be winging them in long and straight.
The long and short of it is… either Rey maintaining distance or Nick negating it. A tall order awaits.
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