Castillejo looked old. Not just his thinning crown, but the way he couldn't avoid any form of straight punch. He got knocked down quite heavily by three punches in the third, getting up at 9, just before the bell sounded. He was covered in sweat and clearly not liking how it was going. He kept eating powerful right hands and was pretty much there for the taking after a minute or so of the fourth.
Vargas refused to put him out his misery and continued the backfoot boxing that he says is going to prolong his career. He looked okay doing it in the first five rounds or so, but after that Castillejo gritted his teeth and just absorbed, absorbed, absorbed everything. In the seventh or eighth (can't remember which) Castillejo was much more active, and perhaps showed what we might be seeing if this had been a younger version of himself. Not saying he would have won, but there probably would have been more give and take.
He caused an injury to Vargas's jaw around the point he became more active. It swelled badly in the last couple rounds and looked like it might be broken - looked like he had a large gobstopper lodged in there. At the end Castillejo actually looked the fresher of the two, though the scores were very much legit at 97 - 92. A case could be made for 96 - 93, but not more than that.
Didn't like the way Vargas sounded in his post-fight interview. Need to check out footage of the pre-fight press conference to see if it was the jaw injury causing it or not...
El Ferroz roars back but finishes with a whimper
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Manos de Oro
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 1630
- Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 12:10
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vagabundo55
- Heavyweight
I thought Vargas could have finished Castillejo when he had him hurt. Maybe, it's not Vargas' fault though. I think his trainer is terrible. Castillejo in his prime would have beat this Vargas but would have lost against the old Vargas. He didn't sound too happy in his interview. I think Vargas will lose soon unless he keeps on taking tune up matches.
I thought it was very disappointing and sad to see the Vargas fight. He was so slow and sluggish, more what you'd expect from an old fighter at the end of his career, not from a 27 year old. It's amazing to see the effect of taking a bad beating and how particularly "post-Trinidad" fighters are rarely the same ever again. I would like to see Vargas fight and beat De La Hoya next year and then retire. I don't even think it's safe for him to take a tune up fight as he doesn't appear to have much left and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him beaten or outworked by a guy with much less potential. I can't see Vargas being able to beat any semi-decent Light Middleweight in their prime and on the balance of both performances I think Mayorga also beats him.
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jamesmcdonnell
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 45229
- Joined: 12 Nov 2003, 06:11
I think his Thyroid problem is the big thing which has affected him.johnswan1 wrote:I thought it was very disappointing and sad to see the Vargas fight. He was so slow and sluggish, more what you'd expect from an old fighter at the end of his career, not from a 27 year old. It's amazing to see the effect of taking a bad beating and how particularly "post-Trinidad" fighters are rarely the same ever again. I would like to see Vargas fight and beat De La Hoya next year and then retire. I don't even think it's safe for him to take a tune up fight as he doesn't appear to have much left and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him beaten or outworked by a guy with much less potential. I can't see Vargas being able to beat any semi-decent Light Middleweight in their prime and on the balance of both performances I think Mayorga also beats him.
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Raff The Frenchman
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 497
- Joined: 10 Feb 2002, 20:00
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vagabundo55
- Heavyweight
johnswan1 wrote:I thought it was very disappointing and sad to see the Vargas fight. He was so slow and sluggish, more what you'd expect from an old fighter at the end of his career, not from a 27 year old. It's amazing to see the effect of taking a bad beating and how particularly "post-Trinidad" fighters are rarely the same ever again. I would like to see Vargas fight and beat De La Hoya next year and then retire. I don't even think it's safe for him to take a tune up fight as he doesn't appear to have much left and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him beaten or outworked by a guy with much less potential. I can't see Vargas being able to beat any semi-decent Light Middleweight in their prime and on the balance of both performances I think Mayorga also beats him.
Vargas will lose against De La Hoya.
Perhaps I was misunderstood here. I didn't say Vargas would beat DLH, I said I would like for him to beat him and then retire. However, I don't think Vargas is without a chance, he would definitely train harder for a fight with Oscar and I'm sure Oscar would do like wise. I think it would be a good compeitive fight with both men temporarily rolling back the years.
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jamesmcdonnell
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 45229
- Joined: 12 Nov 2003, 06:11
I agree I don't think he will fight again and I cannot see why he will fight Vargas (not going to do much good for his legacy).jamesmcdonnell wrote:I have serious doubts Oscar will fight again. Who wants to see him fight Vargas again anyway?
BUT, if he does fight him again I would be chuffed, it was a great contest and I think the rematch will be intriguing as there is a case can be argued that DLH has only won once since that fight (vs Campas).
The fight was very close on the cards at the time of the stoppage and Vargas nearly nailed him early on. Excluding Hopkins and Quartey I think that was closest I have seen DLH getting stopped.
Yes, it is argued that Vargas is shot, but maybe, just maybe, DLH has deteriorated more since that fight.