GUEST COLUMN
Taking on Francisco Vargas in America is the kind of fight I’ve dreamed of since I was a little boy
Stephen Smith on his must-win fight
IT’S another hard fight but I’m at the point now where I have to take these types of contest because it’s where I want to be. A few weeks ago, Francisco Vargas wasn’t even someone who was in my immediate focus because I thought I was going to be fighting Juli Giner for the European belt. Then the offer from America came that left me with a very important decision to make. Once me and Joe [Gallagher] had a talk, it became obvious that a fight in America against a leading contender would be the best option.
The first offer I actually received was to face Orlando Salido, and I accepted that invitation in a heartbeat. The offer was a good one and it was a chance to be amongst the big names again, but once I was set to agree the terms, it went a little quiet. That offer was then changed and they came with Vargas, and although the money wasn’t as good as what they offered for Salido, it was a still a fight that motivated straight away. So it’s off to Vegas on December 9 to take part in the type of fight I’ve dreamed of since I was a little boy starting out in the sport.
I’m under no illusions that I’m
‘I WISH I COULD HAVE THE SOSA FIGHT AGAIN. IT STILL FRUSTRATES ME’
heading there as the underdog. They’ve picked me for a reason as they’ll know about my recent [points] losses to Jason Sosa and Jose Pedraza, but I know I’ve learned so much from each performance and it’s made me a much better fighter, and also somebody who is much better prepared to deal with the type of fight that Vargas will attempt to drag me into.
He’s very good at what he does. He’s a hard man who puts it all on the line so I’ll have to match whatever he brings and I think the experience I’ve picked up in my last few fights will benefit me greatly.
If you look at Pedraza and Sosa before their fights with me, then I think you’ll see that neither of them ever showed the type of performance that they carried out against me. Me and my team looked at both fighters and saw several ways I could win, but I honestly think that Pedraza gave a career-best performance against me and so did Sosa. Both are outstanding fighters so to get the two of them on the top of their game when it’s my time to face them is something of a blow.
The Sosa fight is the one that frustrates me the most, as I let a bad start ruin what could’ve been a much different fight for me. I fought his fight early on and I knew exactly what to expect, but I was down in one round, then cut in another, so all of a sudden we hit round four and I’m so far behind.
I wish I could have that fight all over again but at least I’ve got another chance to redeem myself in some sense, because beating Vargas puts me high up there.
He’s ranked highly by most of the bodies and they’ll recognise me as a worthy contender if I do what I know I’m capable of doing.
This is a fight that opens more doors for me and the dream of being world champion is a step closer. The super-featherweight division I’m in is full of great champions and contenders so victory really is a platform for huge fights.
I’ve had a brief taste of what the highest level is like and I don’t think I’ve done myself enough justice. You look at the champions in my weight class like Vasyl Lomachenko and Gervonta Davis and you see just how hard it is trying to get a good opportunity.
I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t fully grab at least one of the chances that has been given to me in boxing so hopefully this night against Vargas is the one where everything falls into place and goes right for me.