- 6 months ago
Unbeaten Enrique Sanchez faces Ricardo Vargas in a Jr Featherweight fight on HBO Boxing After Dark.
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00:00The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports.
00:30The following is a presentation of HBO Sports.
01:00The following is a presentation of HBO Sports.
01:30The following is a presentation between Azuma Nelson and Jesse James Leha.
01:33Leha got a draw and a win in the previous two fights with the venerable Nelson.
01:39It's the first venture for HBO's Boxing After Dark to Las Vegas, where total darkness is prevented by the constant, omnipresent neon glow.
01:49The lights on the strip are flashing brightly, but we're just off the beaten path at the suburban Boulder Station Hotel and Casino.
01:56An outdoor arena has been constructed in the parking lot.
01:59And amid the searing desert heat and the melting Vegas asphalt, veteran Jessica Allery on the right prepares rookie Tina Carcioni on the left for her first big night in the round card girl game.
02:12We're ready for another terrific night of boxing.
02:15Hello again everybody, I'm Jim Lafley.
02:18We welcome you to this fourth edition of HBO's Boxing After Dark, the series on which we have been blessed with spectacular boxing matches on each of the first three incarnations.
02:29And after our visits on Boxing After Dark to Las Vegas and New York and Grand Forks, North Dakota, we finally bring you to Vegas.
02:36Now two weeks from tonight, world's super middleweight champion Roy Jones will be defending his 168-pound championship against Eric Lucas in Jacksonville, Florida.
02:44But tonight, the consensus pound-for-pound best in the world travels to Vegas to be with us again on Boxing After Dark.
02:50And Roy, it's great to have you here amid your training for the Lucas fight.
02:54A little bit later on, we're going to be seeing the third fight between Jesse James Leha and Azuma Nelson.
02:58They've had two 12-round battles before and obviously know everything about each other in the ring.
03:04What does that mean about this third fight?
03:06Well, what that means is that these two fighters have to go out and waste no time.
03:10They don't need any rounds to feel one another out.
03:12They know each other thoroughly.
03:14They should be able to come right out and go right at it.
03:16I mean, everybody has a game plan that they want to stick to, but usually you have to come out, feel the guy out, and see what that works.
03:22These two guys both know what will work.
03:24They know what won't work.
03:25So all they have to do is go out there and put their plans into action.
03:29All right.
03:30We'll be looking forward to that one.
03:31And Azuma Nelson, not normally a knockout artist, has said, be there early.
03:34So he agrees with your assessment of the fight.
03:36But first, Enrique Sanchez, hard-punching southpaw from Mexico, takes on Ricardo Vargas, Larry Merchant, two Mexicans in the ring against each other at 122.
03:45What's this one about?
03:46Well, it's about a hot young prospect named Sanchez in one of the hottest divisions in boxing.
03:51I'm not sure whether 122-pounders are overfed bantamweights or underfed featherweights, but ever since that magnificent war between Barrera and McKinney, they have just been on a feeding frenzy.
04:05This young fighter we're going to look at tonight is here and being showcased because he defeated Barrera as an amateur, because he is unbeaten, and perhaps as well because he virtually never, ever smiles.
04:19I'm going to call him Smiley.
04:21Smiley Sanchez.
04:23All of this raises a question in my mind, though, Jim.
04:26If we're going to be in the showcasing game, we have two Mexican fighters here.
04:33Mexicans arguably are the best fighters in the world pound for pound, and they may give us a really entertaining fight.
04:40But I find myself wondering why an American network and an American promoter don't showcase some of the very good young American fighters out there, and they are out there.
04:51That's just a question.
04:54It doesn't need an answer from you.
04:56Rhetorical question indeed.
04:57The top two Americans at 122 pounds.
05:00Junior Jones has already appeared here on Boxing After Dark.
05:03So has Kennedy McKinney of the United States.
05:05Now we get ready for the two Mexicans at 122, and you take a look at Ricardo Vargas, who was last seen by this announced team in a rough fight with Johnny Tapio on an undercard here in Vegas about a year ago.
05:17Wound up with a technical draw in that one, one of three draws on his record.
05:2020 wins, five losses, only seven KOs.
05:23He's a technician, not a knockout puncher.
05:27And across the ring from Ricardo Vargas, it's the tall southpaw, 23-year-old Enrique Sanchez.
05:35He's had 17 fights, and a fighter named Jose Rangel went the distance with him twice.
05:41All of the other 15 were knockout victories, many of them in the early rounds.
05:45And as you look at Smiley Sanchez, as Larry Merchant has dubbed him, you'll take note of the fact that he defeated Marco Antonio Barrera, who has exceeded his reputation so far as a Mexican sensation in this weight class in what was Barrera's last amateur fight.
06:09Tail of the tape now between Enrique Sanchez and Ricardo Vargas, and you'll see that they're similar in age.
06:15Sanchez is three inches taller and has a three-inch reach advantage and has the heavier frame.
06:20He weighed in at 122 for only 120 and a half for Vargas.
06:23Rules of the bout now with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
06:27The Enrique Sanchez-Ricardo Vargas fight is scheduled for 10 rounds.
06:31There is no standing eight count.
06:33The three-knockdown rule is in effect.
06:36Only the referee can stop the fight, and you can be saved by the bell only in the 10th and final round.
06:41Jim.
06:41All right, Harold, and now let's go straight to a ring announcer, Michael Buffer, for the pre-fight intros.
06:46Gentlemen, welcome to Boulder Station Hotel and Casino right here in Las Vegas, Nevada, where tonight Bob Arum's top rank, Incorporated, along with your undisputed, undefeated king of beers, Budweiser.
07:01This Bud's for you.
07:02Present an evening of professional boxing for your entertainment.
07:05All the bouts tonight are sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission Chairman Dr. James Knave, commissioners Nat Karasali, Dr. Elias Ghanom, Luther Mack, and Crispin Rivera.
07:18Physicians at ringside are Dr. Robert Voi, Dr. Flip Homansky, and Dr. Margaret Goodman.
07:24And your timekeepers at ringside are Jane Broadfoot and James Cavan.
07:28The three judges assigned to this first bout will be Dwayne Ford, Patricia Morse Jarman, and Al Ciciliano.
07:37And when the bell rings, the man in charge of the action, your referee, Mitch Halpern.
07:44And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's go to the ring.
07:47Ten rounds of boxing in the super band of weight division.
07:52Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner.
07:55Wearing blue trunks with white trim and weighing 120 and one-half pounds.
08:01His professional record, 20 victories.
08:04With only five defeats and three draws, seven KOs to his credit.
08:08He comes to us from Tijuana, Mexico.
08:11Ladies and gentlemen, Ricardo Chapo Vargas.
08:18And his opponent across the ring, fighting out of the red corner.
08:26Wearing white, trimmed in gold, and weighing in at 122 pounds.
08:32His professional record, a perfect one of 17-0, 15 by KO.
08:37From Mexico City, Mexico, Tomas y Caballeros, El Zurdo de Oro, Enrique Sanchez.
08:47Come on out.
08:55Let's go, let's go.
08:59This will be a cleave fight.
09:01Protect yourself at all times, obey my commands at all times.
09:03Any questions?
09:04Touch gloves, touch it, let's go.
09:05Jim, when I heard we were doing a fight at Boulder Station,
09:10I called my relatives in Denver and told them we were finally coming up there with a fight.
09:15I hope they're not waiting tonight for it to start.
09:18Oh, no, they're watching right now, Larry.
09:23They've helped to propel us to those great ratings for the first three editions of Boxing After Dark.
09:28Ricardo Chapo Vargas with a final prayer before he stands up for round one of this battle with Enrique Sanchez.
09:35And Sanchez patiently waits across the ring.
09:44Mitch Halperin, the referee, went over to note for Chapo Vargas that time was passing.
09:51And Sanchez comes out with a straight right hand to the mouth of Vargas
09:54and then lands a left hand behind it.
09:56And Enrique Sanchez, aware of his knockout reputation, looks to uphold it early.
10:04Sanchez.
10:06Sanchez is very serious.
10:08He came out there and he went.
10:10The other guy wanted to touch gloves with him, but he wants no part of that.
10:15Harold Letterman telling us from his microphone that it is not a requirement that they touch gloves,
10:20not a rule.
10:21Sanchez didn't have to observe that formality if he didn't want to.
10:26The only thing you have to wonder about a guy like Enrique Sanchez is that,
10:35is there a formidable opponent on his record list?
10:39Has he faced anyone with the talent of a guy, say, the guy he's in there with now?
10:44Well, certainly Vargas is a step up in experience from most of Enrique Sanchez's previous opponents,
10:51but Vargas is not a heavy hitter.
10:54Which is no doubt why they picked him as an opponent.
11:00But he told us he didn't come here to be a victim and he can fight.
11:05Well, we know that from watching his eight-round technical draw with Johnny Tapia.
11:09As he was, in the view of many, in control of the fight in the later rounds against the very skilled top hit.
11:18Excellent right hand over the top by Vargas.
11:24Vargas beginning to land.
11:25Most of the early action came from Sanchez.
11:27The scouting report on Sanchez is big left hand can be hit.
11:36And sometimes big punchers do tend to tire or they lose courage after they can't knock a guy out with those big punchers.
11:42All of those, the questions facing Enrique Sanchez as he looks for his 18th consecutive victory
11:51and continues to move toward a possible showdown well into the future
11:55against fellow Mexican phenom Marco Antonio Barrera.
11:59Vargas is one of the best basic boxers that you're ever going to see.
12:14He does the one, two, three.
12:15He has perfect footwork.
12:17And everything that a basic boxer should do, he does very well.
12:21He moves to the left to fight a southpaw like he's supposed to do.
12:24He's well-conditioned or he wouldn't be able to maintain that footwork as he does.
12:28And there's a solid right hand by Ricardo Vargas,
12:30who has found the target in the last minute and a half of round one against Enrique Sanchez.
12:41Excellent body shot by Sanchez.
12:43Hardest punch of the latter part of the round for Sanchez.
12:46He was restricted to the jab for much of the round after the early thunder against Vargas.
12:53And when we go to the Spanish-speaking corners, our interpreter is Ray Torres.
12:58How do you feel?
13:01You've got to keep that jab going.
13:03And the right hand is what's going to do it for you.
13:08Throw the jab to the top and the straight right.
13:15The first thing you've got to do is the jab and then the right.
13:18When he gets closer, make sure you get him with the left hook to the body.
13:21And we knew that that's the way he was going to come out, pressing the action.
13:32Move to the side because he's trying to hit you with that big left right hook.
13:40Let's go. Let's go. Seconds out.
13:45There's our pal Smiley.
13:49Manager Frank Espinosa saw that he once or said
13:52that he once saw Sanchez smile during a game of Nintendo.
13:56Briefly.
13:57Right hand over the top by Vargas.
13:59And he's finding more and more chances, Roy,
14:01to land that long looping right over the top.
14:04Because Sanchez does not have a great deal of head movement.
14:08And he's throwing big punches.
14:10Anytime you throw big punches,
14:11they cause you to be out there longer than you should be.
14:14And this is when Vargas usually counters him.
14:19Vargas' plan, obviously, to go in
14:21and then move back out after doing damage.
14:23There's a mouth under Sanchez's right left eye
14:26from that right hand of Vargas.
14:32Excellent right hand.
14:34Left hand by Sanchez and down goes Vargas
14:38and there's the power in the straight left.
14:41He does have power and Vargas is truly hurt now.
14:44Hey, you all right?
14:44Look at this. Okay.
14:46If he survives this round,
14:48this will turn into an excellent fight.
14:57Sanchez being young also has to make sure
14:59that he doesn't run into a big punch by Vargas here.
15:01Vargas on his bicycle
15:04comes back with that right hand over the top
15:06and lands it.
15:09The swelling is starting to show under Sanchez's left eye.
15:14Sure is.
15:21Another left hand.
15:22This one straight to the chest by Sanchez.
15:24Vargas is going to have to find a way to stay away
15:27from Enrique Sanchez's powerful straight left hand.
15:31He has a very powerful left hand,
15:33but the eye is swelling rapidly.
15:43Now Vargas is moving both ways, Roy.
15:46Which way is best to neutralize the left?
15:48To his left is the best way
15:50because he moves away from Sanchez's power.
15:53But what he's doing is he's moving left and right
15:55because he doesn't want Sanchez to set up
15:56and throw any punch
15:58because both of Sanchez's hands
16:00probably are very powerful.
16:01So this is heady defensive work by Vargas
16:03after he had been dropped earlier in the round.
16:05This is veteran work by Vargas.
16:07Another solid left hand
16:10in the middle of that exchange
16:11by Enrique Sanchez.
16:13This time Vargas stays up on his toes.
16:15And the reason Vargas gets hits
16:16while he's touching is because
16:17he stays straight up to throw three punches
16:19just like he did right then.
16:21Once he starts to punch,
16:22he stands still with his head
16:23straight up in the air.
16:26Watch those heads, man.
16:27Watch those heads.
16:27Round two coming to a close.
16:38Vargas was down early on the round,
16:40but as Roy Jones has pointed out,
16:43there is now significant swelling
16:45under the left eye of Enrique Sanchez.
16:48And Vargas knows that.
16:49He's putting a lot of pressure on him.
16:53Okay, okay, okay, okay.
16:54Come on.
16:57All right.
17:03Don't keep his eyes closed.
17:11The eye is a little, uh,
17:12but I'll take care of it,
17:14says, uh, Chuck.
17:16Hold it, hold it.
17:20Take a look at the knockdown
17:22after a right hand.
17:24Sanchez stays in close.
17:26It's a straight, quick left hand.
17:29Caught.
17:31Caught Vargas flat-footed.
17:34Knocked him down on the seat of his pants.
17:37Seconds out!
17:39Let's go!
17:40Seconds out!
17:42And you saw Chuck Bodak
17:44working with the salve
17:47on the eye of Enrique Sanchez.
17:53Right eye looks a tiny bit puffy, too,
17:55but it's the left eye
17:56which is significantly swollen.
17:59Marcus up on his toes again
18:01as round three begins.
18:02He's gonna have to have a lot of stamina
18:04to last through the distance
18:06up on his toes like this, Roy.
18:07I think this is the way
18:08he fights all the time,
18:10so his body should be
18:11pretty much used to doing this.
18:14The thing is, though,
18:15he's also making Sanchez
18:17work harder than
18:18what Sanchez is probably used to.
18:20Unstatt numbers showing
18:21that Vargas landed
18:22more than half of his power shots
18:23in the first two rounds.
18:24Obviously, most of those,
18:26the right hand over the top,
18:27which has been finding the target.
18:28If he throws one punch at a time
18:34and moves his head
18:35then come back and punch,
18:36I think he'd be much safer.
18:38Great uppercut by Vargas.
18:40Left-hand uppercut by Vargas.
18:41He's able to counter Sanchez in close.
18:43Now Sanchez lands the straight left again.
18:50Good, solid right hand by Vargas.
18:52Anytime Vargas throws two jabs,
18:54he moves right into the line
18:57of the straight left of Sanchez.
19:00This is how he got knocked down
19:01in the first round.
19:03Yeah, because he kind of left
19:03the right hand dangling out there, too.
19:12The knockdown was early in round two.
19:15Midway through the third now.
19:27Vargas is throwing a very good right hand there.
19:32And forcing Sanchez to think defensively
19:35and to opt for more head movement.
19:37And as Sanchez does all this,
19:39his punch output is dropping.
19:41And he doesn't get to concentrate
19:42on the power shots like he wants to.
19:46Another fine piece of technicianship
19:48from Ricardo Vargas,
19:49who gave Johnny Tapia
19:50all he could handle here in Vegas a year ago
19:52and is doing the same right now
19:54with Enrique Sanchez.
19:55Ricardo Vargas in the blue shorts,
20:19Enrique Sanchez in the white.
20:21Vargas lost his most recent fight
20:23to a southpaw named Rudy Bradley
20:24and said he learned enough
20:26from that experience
20:26to be well-prepared to go against
20:28a southpaw this time around.
20:31And you can tell by the way
20:32that he's moving
20:32that he did learn a lot
20:33from whoever he fought.
20:43Vargas' footwork
20:44creating a mystery so far
20:46for Enrique Sanchez.
20:53Look, look, you have to be careful
21:00with his right hand.
21:01He's coming right at you.
21:05He's beating you to the front.
21:07You've got to be quicker than him.
21:10You need to hit to the body
21:11because he's moving too much.
21:12Hit him to the body
21:13and you're weak in here.
21:14Underneath.
21:15The jab and the straight right hand.
21:17Still to come
21:24in the second of our two bouts
21:26this evening,
21:27the main event,
21:28super featherweight champion
21:29Azuma Nelson of Ghana.
21:3117 years in the pro fight game
21:34and meeting Jesse James Leija
21:37for the third time.
21:38Leija got a draw
21:39and a victory
21:39in their first two bouts
21:40and Azuma swears up and down,
21:43no one will beat me twice.
21:48Vargas is a newsboy
21:50in Tijuana
21:51between fights,
21:52has a paper route.
21:54If he rushes back
21:55after this fight,
21:56he'll be able to read
21:57that he had a hell of a good round
21:58in the third round
21:59while he's distributing the papers.
22:10He told you before the fight
22:12that Sanchez is the power puncher
22:13but through the first three rounds,
22:15Vargas has landed
22:16almost the same number
22:17of power shots
22:18and more than half
22:20of those he's attempted.
22:25It looks like Sanchez
22:26has bad intentions
22:28on his mind
22:28for this round.
22:42bad intentions
22:51can lead to frustration
22:52when the opponent
22:53is this hard to find.
22:55Yeah, it can
22:56and this is where
22:57you get to test
22:58the young fighters.
22:59This is where
22:59you really find out
23:00what they are made of.
23:02Sanchez landing
23:03a shot there
23:04on the upper right arm
23:05of Vargas.
23:06You land to the arms
23:07and shoulders
23:08and you might begin
23:09to slow a guy down.
23:10You will slow him down
23:11and you'll make his arms
23:12and shoulders
23:12very weary.
23:20Vargas still up
23:21on his toes
23:22not punching as much
23:23in this round
23:23as he did in the third.
23:25Sanchez trying
23:26to pick his shots.
23:30Larry, does Vargas
23:31jog through that paper route?
23:32Because he's in
23:33very good shape here.
23:34he darts through
23:36the traffic
23:36in Tijuana
23:37in and out
23:39of the automobiles
23:40selling papers
23:41making change.
23:44And says that
23:45lots of the customers
23:46in cars
23:47know who he is
23:48as he sells them
23:49the newspapers
23:50going by.
23:51Hard left hand
23:52again by Sanchez.
23:53Vargas moves away.
23:56Sanchez reaching
23:57with the left
23:58that time.
23:59Vargas
23:59no longer able
24:00to target Sanchez's
24:02left eye
24:02as he was doing earlier.
24:04No, because I think
24:05the power has him
24:06where he wants to
24:06stay away from
24:07Sanchez for a little while.
24:09He's not taking
24:10the gamble
24:10that he was taking
24:11earlier in the fight.
24:14Maybe he believes
24:15he's ahead on points.
24:17Maybe he's beginning
24:18to tariff.
24:20I see his mouth open.
24:24He had such a good
24:25round in the third round,
24:27Roy, and he just
24:27seems to have
24:29sat back on it.
24:31He's doing exactly
24:33what he wasn't doing
24:33in the last round,
24:34which he's trying
24:35to beat him to the punch.
24:36And this would make
24:37what caused him
24:37to get hit more
24:38than he normally does.
24:39Both fighters flurry
24:40briefly in the closing
24:41seconds of what has
24:43been a largely
24:43inactive round.
24:47And the last punch
24:48landed was a left
24:49of the body
24:50by Sanchez.
24:51A very smart punch.
24:52Harold Lederman,
25:06how do you have it
25:07scored so far?
25:08Jim, 39, 36,
25:10three rounds to one,
25:11Enrique Sanchez.
25:12I gave him a 10-8 round
25:13for the knockdown
25:14in round two.
25:15I certainly gave him
25:15rounds one, two,
25:16and four.
25:18Ricardo Vargas
25:19is doing a lot
25:19of running,
25:20and Enrique Sanchez
25:20is no doubt bothered
25:21by that movement.
25:22But the truth
25:23of the matter
25:23is Ricardo Vargas
25:24is just not getting
25:25in a lot of hard shots.
25:26Those shots are just
25:27too light.
25:27They're not doing
25:28enough damage.
25:29Enrique Sanchez
25:29landing all the good
25:30power shots.
25:32We are in accord
25:34on the score, Harold.
25:37Detente.
25:39The Merchant Letterman
25:40Chuck Bodak's done
25:50a pretty good job
25:50on Sanchez's left eye,
25:52which looks a tiny bit
25:52more open now
25:53than was the case
25:54in round two.
25:57And Sanchez
25:58landed some great
25:59body shots
26:00in that last round.
26:01This can make a guy
26:02that moves a lot
26:03like Vargas
26:03slow down
26:04very rapidly.
26:06Vargas still up
26:07on his toes
26:08as round five
26:09begins.
26:13Sanchez has been
26:13flat-footed
26:14looking for power
26:15shots all the way.
26:24Right now,
26:25Sanchez,
26:26I'm sorry,
26:27Vargas is fighting
26:27a fight that looks
26:28like he's trying
26:29to survive
26:30rather than win.
26:31Two hard left hands
26:32landed by Sanchez
26:33there,
26:34and Vargas
26:34is slowing down
26:35just a little bit.
26:36The bodies have
26:37to do that to you.
26:39Vargas is a very good round
26:42so far for Enrique Sanchez,
26:45who is getting more
26:45and more effective
26:46at ducking
26:47and slipping Vargas
26:48as he comes in,
26:49and then landing
26:50the left hand
26:50when he gets a chance.
26:52in a great young fighter.
26:59Shaping up is a very good round
27:00so far for Enrique Sanchez,
27:02who is getting more
27:03and more effective
27:04at ducking
27:05and slipping Vargas
27:05as he comes in
27:06and then landing
27:07the left hand
27:08when he gets a chance.
27:09and so far
27:10this seems to be
27:11a good fight
27:11for a young fighter
27:12like Sanchez.
27:13He's teaching them a lot.
27:15He's learning to move their head.
27:16He's taking chances.
27:17He's putting punches together.
27:19He's doing all the things
27:20you'd like to see
27:20in a great young fighter.
27:23But he has to.
27:25Yeah, he's being stretched
27:26to the limit here
27:27by a guy
27:28whose experience
27:29is obvious.
27:32Hard right hand
27:33by Vargas.
27:34No better teacher
27:35than experience.
27:47Vargas turning the tide
27:48just a little bit now
27:49on round five.
27:51You must be
27:52in sensational condition
27:54to fight ten full rounds
27:55the way Ricardo Vargas
27:56is fighting,
27:57but obviously his plan
27:59is to do exactly that.
28:00That's what it seems like to me.
28:02I think he has
28:02nothing else in mind.
28:04But of course,
28:04I don't think
28:05he can fight this kid
28:06any other way.
28:09Well, certainly
28:09if he ever came down
28:11off of his toes
28:11and stood still,
28:12he'd be in trouble.
28:14Or so it would appear.
28:15He wouldn't only sit
28:16then still,
28:17he'd probably last still.
28:21But he knows it.
28:24Another good,
28:25hard left hand
28:26inside by Sanchez
28:28who's landed two of them
28:29in this round
28:30coming up and under
28:31with it.
28:32And there again
28:33was one of the body
28:34shots that I'm
28:35telling you about
28:35by Sanchez.
28:45Round five
28:46coming to a close.
28:47One of the better
28:47rounds of the fight
28:48so far for the man
28:49in white,
28:50Enrique Sanchez.
28:51quickly now,
29:06let's look ahead
29:06to a program
29:07we hope you'll love
29:08on HBO.
29:10Return to a time
29:12of true Olympic gold.
29:13I didn't even think
29:14about making
29:15any money in sport,
29:16I can tell you.
29:16You did it
29:17for the love
29:18of sports.
29:19Strip away the years,
29:21rediscover the summer games,
29:23unadorned,
29:23pure,
29:24and simple,
29:25in never-before-seen
29:26home movies,
29:27with Olympic athletes
29:28telling their own stories
29:29in their own words.
29:31This is what you've
29:32trained 10,000 hours for.
29:34Return to the spirit
29:35of the games.
29:36Premieres Tuesday night
29:37at 10.15 on HBO.
29:41That's this coming Tuesday.
29:45Spirit of the games.
29:47An Olympic documentary
29:48on HBO
29:49in the same spirit
29:50as our baseball offering
29:52of a few years back
29:53when it was a game.
29:55After half of this fight,
29:58Jim,
29:58I get the feeling
29:59I've seen it.
30:00It ain't gonna be
30:01any different.
30:04Well,
30:04a big question is
30:05could Sanchez
30:06find a way
30:07to pull out
30:07a knockout,
30:08which is
30:08the best way
30:09to preserve
30:10his reputation
30:10as a rising superstar,
30:12although there'd be
30:13no embarrassment
30:13from a decision
30:15in this fight
30:15against a veteran
30:16like Vargas.
30:17And Vargas has
30:18a mouse developed
30:19under his right eye
30:20now,
30:20so they counter-match
30:21a little.
30:23Matching mice, huh?
30:24Mice under
30:25the power punch hands.
30:31Vargas going to the body.
30:33A great body shot
30:34by Vargas.
30:35A great answer
30:36to the fight
30:37about that, too.
30:53This is a guy
30:54with six shooters
30:55against a guy
30:56with cannon.
30:56Vargas landing the right
31:09again.
31:14Sanchez with that
31:14perpetually dour expression
31:16comes back.
31:18Trying to land
31:19a solid left-hand shot
31:20and there it was.
31:21Good overhand left
31:25by Sanchez.
31:26Zurdo de oro
31:27means the left hand
31:29of gold.
31:29saw that Olympic footage
31:48between rounds,
31:49including the shot
31:49of Muhammad Ali,
31:50then Cassius Marcellus Clay
31:52at Rome in 1960
31:53where he won the light
31:55heavyweight gold medal.
31:55the Mexican Olympic Committee
31:57had hoped
31:57that Enrique Sanchez
31:59would remain an amateur
32:00long enough
32:00to represent them
32:01in Barcelona,
32:02but in 1990
32:03he determined
32:04that his family
32:05needed money
32:05and he was going
32:07to turn professional.
32:08now his nose
32:13is bleeding a little.
32:15Sanchez is.
32:24Uppercut attempted
32:25by Vargas
32:25from pretty long range
32:27and Sanchez came back
32:28with a left and a right.
32:29Vargas seems to be
32:30a little bit more willing
32:31to gamble here.
32:32Natives are getting
32:49restless.
32:56You're staying too far
32:58behind with those punches.
32:59You've got to cut off
33:03the distance.
33:05You're giving him
33:05too much room.
33:06You need to get up
33:07close and hit him.
33:08You've got to hit him
33:09with your left hook.
33:12You need to be
33:13moving lateral
33:13movements.
33:14He's tired.
33:28He's hurt.
33:29You need to use
33:30that speed.
33:31You're doing good,
33:32but you need to
33:32keep away from him.
33:35As soon as he misses,
33:36he's off balance,
33:37you've got to hit him.
33:38Roy, we saw the low
33:44connect percentages
33:45for both fighters
33:46with the jab.
33:47I guess it's hard
33:49to land a jab
33:49against a guy
33:50who's moving
33:51the way Vargas does.
33:52And on the other hand,
33:52when you're moving
33:53the way Vargas does,
33:54it's hard for you
33:54to land a jab too.
33:55Yeah.
33:57The easiest thing
33:58to hit is a still target.
34:01But like you said,
34:02you also can't punch
34:03and run at the same time.
34:06Hard left hand
34:07by Sanchez,
34:08and he suspects
34:09he's got Vargas hurt.
34:12I thought Vargas
34:13blocked the punch.
34:14He did, Roy.
34:16Sanchez didn't think so.
34:17He didn't block
34:17that one against
34:18Rostin, though.
34:19He has his right hand
34:20practically nailed
34:21to his jaw
34:22when he gets in trouble.
34:24We re-ekpointed.
34:38Come on!
34:44Come on!
34:45Come on!
34:45Come on!
34:46The arena is too!
34:48212-22-22 ft 1
34:50He came from American
34:51filled with the
34:51victory抓
34:53He just doesn't have the right-hand power that Rosario had.
35:23He doesn't have that.
35:28Chapo in Spanish means little guy.
35:34That's the colloquial interpretation.
35:41And you see the increasingly effective head movement of Sanchez there as he slipped the right hand that was hitting him earlier.
35:49I think Sanchez has learned a lot in this fight.
35:53I think what he's learned, Roy, is not to fight these kind of guys.
35:57You never have a good time fighting them even when you win.
36:01He's a very serious young man who wants to be a devoted disciplinarian in pursuit of this art.
36:07And I think he'll enjoy a tough learning experience if it comes out okay for him.
36:11I think he will, too.
36:14You never have a good time.
36:27Vargas is finally down on flat feet.
36:30He's lost all that bounce as the seventh round comes toward a close.
36:36And Sanchez is landing more and more of those lefts,
36:40Sidney Roy.
36:41Yeah, he is, because Vargas
36:43is starting to slow a little.
36:47Two great body shots by Vargas.
36:59Veteran Jessica Allery of the three-round-card girls
37:02tonight, she's the only one who's done it before,
37:05so they rely on her for guidance
37:08and inspiration throughout the fight,
37:10and the crowd likes her, too.
37:13Maybe they have a reason.
37:15She's a veteran.
37:19She knows what kind of vivacity to bring to it.
37:23You need to keep moving.
37:36You need to have a lot of movement for the weight and flare away.
37:40Okay, guys.
37:48Vargas said he wouldn't be a victim, and he hasn't been,
37:51but he hasn't been a victor either.
37:54He wants to...
37:55Oh, there's a right-hand shot.
37:57Best punch of the night for Vargas.
37:59But then he takes out, heading north again.
38:05That's a good right hand.
38:06Sanchez, awakened by Vargas' right hand over the top.
38:11The one thing a fighter sitting at home made notice about Sanchez
38:24is that he doesn't elect to fight going backwards.
38:30Good for his style?
38:31Well, sort of because of his punching power,
38:34but if you find a guy who is good enough
38:36who can take the punch
38:37and who will force him to fight going backwards,
38:40then he's in trouble.
38:41You just described Barrera on purpose.
38:44Hold on, hold on. Time!
38:45In that corner. In that corner. Come here.
38:46So looking down the road, you think he would have...
38:48There's a cut. There's a cut on the right eye.
38:50Caused by an ax on the butt.
38:52Oh, Vargas by an accidental butt.
38:54Yep.
38:56You heard Mitch Halpern, the referee, describe what happened.
39:03But let me make one more point here about the Barrera fight.
39:06Sometimes we never know how well these guys know one another.
39:11When guys face each other in amateur careers,
39:13they learn more about one another than we would ever know.
39:16So it still would be a very interesting fight to see.
39:19That's part of the big mystery
39:20surrounding a possible Lennox-Lewis-Riddick-Bow fight.
39:23What would be the effect of Lewis' knockout victory
39:26over Bow in Seoul on the professional fight
39:29if it ever took place?
39:30And we told you, Sanchez beat Barrera
39:33in Barrera's last amateur fight
39:35and knocked him down in the fight.
39:40And you can be sure that Barrera
39:42will not forget being knocked down.
39:46All right, step back, please. Step back. Let's go.
39:48And you see the blood on the right eye of Ricardovar,
39:52from the small cut that Mitch Halpern described
39:55with the ring doctor when he said,
39:57caused by an accidental buck.
39:59It's below the eye and it shouldn't be dangerous.
40:01Watch those hands, go. Break, break, break.
40:07Gentlemen, watch those hands here. Come on, come on.
40:11As you can tell, Vargas just doesn't have any pop in his punches.
40:16He's basically a 118 pounder, and he's not a big puncher
40:21As you can tell Vargas just doesn't have any pop in his punches. He's basically a 118 pounder and he's not a big puncher even at that weight and he's moved up to Sanchez's weight.
40:49And I think these body shots are starting to have a little bit of an effect on Vargas.
40:55Crowd likes it.
40:58Vargas with a big right hand and then eats a huge left as Round 8 comes to a close.
41:04Great action in Round 8.
41:06That was the best exchange of the fight.
41:08That was boxing after Dark Stuff.
41:19Let me do it.
41:20Let me do it.
41:22Yeah.
41:23Mark is actually both in heads.
41:26Here you see the exchange at the end of crushing left hand that buckled Vargas.
41:35But back he comes.
41:36Regains his feet.
41:38And gets out of the round.
41:40Harold Letterman, what do you have?
41:42Jim, 78, 73, six rounds to two.
41:46Enrique Sanchez.
41:47I think this guy's got a big lead.
41:48Ricardo Vargas is running like heck.
41:50I mean he's running like a son of a gun.
41:52And Enrique Sanchez is just landing those hardest shots.
41:55And like Larry said, it's a super bantamweight against a super flyweight.
41:59One.
42:00Seventeen previous fights.
42:02Sanchez has never been the full ten round distance.
42:05His two route going performances against Jose Rangel were at four and six rounds.
42:10So this promises to be at least the lengthiest test of Enrique Sanchez's career.
42:22Eighth round was a power shot festival.
42:24Both fighters landing more than half of their power shot attempts.
42:27Good body shot by Enrique Sanchez.
42:43Right hand landed up top for Vargas.
42:46He's increasingly brave in trading shots with Sanchez down the stretch.
42:50Yeah, but Sanchez is also landing some wicked body shots.
42:54Which is what Vargas should be trying to do.
42:56Vargas asks Halpin for help in keeping Sanchez's head off his forehead.
43:08Great defense by Vargas.
43:12He's a skilled fighter.
43:14I told you he's one of the best basic boxers that I've seen in a long time.
43:18Makes you want to see the five guys who've beaten him.
43:20Oh, another lovely body shot by Enrique Sanchez.
43:30Part of the difference in the bout, Sanchez's willingness to go to the body and the ability to land there.
43:36When you're always coming forward, when you've established yourself as the aggressor in the bout, you get a better chance to land those body punches.
43:54Yeah, you get a great chance to land the body punches.
43:56Yeah, you get a great chance to land the body punches, but if you ever run across a fighter who knows how to get out in front of you, which means to act before you have a chance to act.
44:04So he just keeps you reacting, he will beat you if you're a forward fighter.
44:08And you're talking again about Marco Antonio Barrera.
44:12Potential opponent down the road for Sanchez if all goes well.
44:20Right there, Vargas did what he should have been doing all night.
44:23He lay it with a big right hand and came in and then he got out.
44:26That's the only way to fight a guy who comes forward like that.
44:30Particularly a southpaw, right?
44:32Particularly a southpaw, exactly.
44:39See there? Anytime he starts first, he can hit him, but he has to get out of there after he starts.
44:44And again, Vargas lands a right and takes a much heavier left in return.
44:49Because he stays there and then Sanchez does the same thing back to him.
44:56There! That's what it takes.
44:59But don't take that with a big puncher like Sanchez.
45:10You're staying too close to him and he's hitting you because you're standing still.
45:20You need to be moving and throwing those left hooks.
45:24You need to knock this kid out in order to beat him. You're so far behind, you're going to need a knockout.
45:39You need to throw combinations. Let's go now. This is the last round. You want to win? Let's go for it.
45:44Newsy, if you want to win this fight with a knockout, you'll be on the front page of the papers you're selling tomorrow in Tijuana.
45:53One thing I have to say about Sanchez in this particular fight is that he also hasn't had a lot of chances to fight backing up.
46:03Because if he had backed up, if he had backed up, then he really would have been in for a bull.
46:04But there is still a possibility that he can box backing up.
46:05But I just don't see it anywhere.
46:06Well, he's been making the fight here against a guy who figured that latterly would have been in for a bull.
46:08There is still a possibility that he can box backing up, but I just don't see it anywhere.
46:22But there's still a possibility that he can box backing up.
46:28But I just don't see it anywhere.
46:29Well, he's been making the fight here against a guy who figured that lateral movement was going to throw him off.
46:35And maybe for the first few rounds it confused him a little bit.
46:38But in the latter rounds, he has put body punching together with hard left-hand shots over the top
46:43to take increasing command against a very brave Ricardo Vargas.
46:48Yeah, he's got a very smart fight here.
46:49He did what had to be done, which is to keep pressure on this guy
46:52because Vargas is going to show you all types of movements.
46:57And Vargas, told by the man in his corner he would need a knockout to win,
47:01is not doing anything to indicate he wants to fulfill that expectation.
47:05No, it looks like he's just going to be content with going the distance.
47:10He fights good enough to lose, which is why they have matched him with the fighter who's being showcased.
47:19And Vargas, seemingly wobbled just a little bit by the first of those two left-hands.
47:31Sanchez will once again try to apply the finisher.
47:34And now this is going to be a head-butt discussion.
47:36Some blood from Sanchez's nose on that last butt.
47:48I think these are accidental butt, though.
47:50Sanchez wants a KO.
47:5315 out of 17 KOs coming in.
47:55He wants 16 out of 18.
47:56And he may be about to get it.
47:58That's the drama here as the bout draws to a close.
48:07Ricardo Vargas not doing much to give himself a chance to come back.
48:11Sanchez wants to punctuate this by putting the man on the canvas.
48:15Probably won't do it by loading up shots like that.
48:26No, he'll have to put combinations on Vargas still.
48:30Vargas, as we said, is a veteran.
48:33He knows how to survive.
48:34Well, it's gotten increasingly easy in these last few rounds for Sanchez.
48:54And Vargas, in the 10th round, elected to try to finish the fight.
48:59And it's getting tougher and tougher for him to do that.
49:02And he made it.
49:19A little empty symbolism there as Vargas' corner lifts him in the air.
49:25Barring a bizarre turn of events with the scoring of this bout,
49:29Enrique Sanchez has coasted to an easy decision.
49:46Another look at how the bout ended.
49:4810th round was a mismatch as Sanchez landed 38 of 80 punches by punch stat count.
49:54Most of them power shots.
49:56Vargas threw only 20 blows in the last round and landed four.
50:03And, Harold Letterman, how did you score the 10-round bout?
50:06Jim, 97-91, seven rounds to three.
50:09Enrique Sanchez, I scored that last round 10 to 8 without a knockdown.
50:12I mean, referee Mitch Hopper was ready to stop it in the 10th.
50:15Certainly, Enrique Sanchez deserved an extra point for winning that 10th round by a huge margin.
50:20Enrique Sanchez wins easy with the power shots.
50:22Ricardo Vargas, a great job of running.
50:24He tried, but he was just too small for a bigger, harder hitting guy.
50:27I couldn't have said it better myself, Harold.
50:34And we'll see if the judges are in accord with Harold Letterman on what would appear to have been an obvious easy decision victory for Enrique Sanchez.
50:43It will bring his record to 18 and zip.
50:45Final punch stat numbers, and you'll see the increasing domination in the late rounds by Sanchez,
50:51who wound up landing 38% of his punches, threw more than Vargas,
50:55and landed 71 more punches than Vargas over the long haul.
51:00Through the midway point in the bout, these numbers were about even,
51:03so the last five rounds were mostly Sanchez.
51:07Jabs in the bout, and you can see that Vargas threw more and landed a few more,
51:12but Sanchez had the slightly better landing percentage.
51:15And now let's go to Michael Buffer for the official predicament.
51:18Ladies and gentlemen, here at Boulder Station, we go to the scorecards.
51:23Dwayne Ford scores the bout 99 to 90.
51:26Patricia Morris Jarman scores it 97 to 91.
51:30And Al Cicliano scores it 97 to 92.
51:33For the winner by unanimous decision, still undefeated,
51:39El Zordo de Oro, Enrique Sanchez.
51:48And here's the round of applause for one very game young fighter here.
51:54So there it is, unanimous decision for Sanchez.
51:57He stays on track for continued ascendancy in the 122-pound weight class.
52:03Sanchez now with his 18th consecutive victory.
52:08He does not get the knockout against a pretty high-quality opponent in Ricardo Vargas,
52:12but did everything he had to do to dominate the fight and earn another victory.
52:17En route to a possible meeting somewhere down the road with fellow Mexico City product,
52:22fellow 122-pounder, fellow knockout artist, Marco Antonio Barrera,
52:27the star of edition one of Boxing After Dark on February 3 earlier this year.
52:31So now we get ready for our main event of the evening
52:35between Jesse James Leja of San Antonio, Texas.
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