Francisco “Bandido” Vargas, a tireless warrior

On December 25, 1984, Francisco Javier Vargas Pelaez, the eldest of four kids, was born in Mexico City.

He was always restless and in school it was common for him to receive reprimands and calls his mother because he was a quarrelsome child.

One of his uncles was the one who took him to the Jordan gym to channel his boundless energy into boxing and there he found his true passion.

Francisco watched the qualifying rounds for the Sydney 2000 Olympics on television and promised himself to excel in boxing, first going to represent his country in an Olympics and then becoming a world champion.

As an amateur fighter he participated in the 2006 Central American Games, the 2007 Pan American Games, and the 2008 Olympic Games.

Vargas made his professional debut in March 2010, defeating Daniel Calzada by unanimous decision at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine, Texas.

From there he began to draw attention for his aggressive style and strong punch.
In March 2012, the “Bandido” signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions, something very beneficial for his career as they gave him a great boost in addition to expanding his fan base in Mexico and the United States.

His first fight with the Golden Boy banner was against Carlos Martinez, technically knocking him out in the third round.

This victory was followed by six triumphs. In January 2013, he faced veteran Ira Terry, knocking him out in just two rounds.

In May, he stopped Cristian Arrazola in three rounds. On August 9, 2013, he faced fellow undefeated Brandon Bennett, defeating him in a ten-round war to win his first major professional title, the NABF super featherweight belt.

The road to victory continued for Vargas defeating experienced and quality fighters. On December 13, 2013, Vargas defeated former world title challenger Jerry Belmontes by decision.

On March 8, 2014, he defeated Puerto Rican Abner Cotto by unanimous decision.

The eyes of the world turned to see the “Bandit” on the same card of Canelo Álvarez vs. Erislandy Lara, when he achieved a thrilling knockout victory over Puerto Rican legend and former world champion Juan Manuel López.

In 2015, Vargas headlined his first main event, this time broadcast on HBO, defeating tough prospect Will Tomlinson by knockout in the eighth round.

On November 21, 2015, in support of the Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Álvarez fight at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, Vargas had his moment of consecration when he won the super featherweight title of the World Boxing Council defeating the champion, the Japanese left-handed Takashi Miura.

A brutal right hand from the “Bandido” came close to sending Miura to the canvas in the first round, but Takashi resisted and withstood the attacks of the Mexican, who looked good the first two rounds.

A header caused a slight cut on Vargas’s right cheekbone and little by little the fight was ceded to Miura, who in the fourth round landed a powerful left that hurt the Mexican’s face and sent him to the canvas, but he managed to recover.

Vargas’ right eye was badly injured in the seventh, it seemed a matter of time before the Japanese finished the fight.

In the ninth round, a left punch opened the way for Vargas, who finished off with a right hand to send Miura to the canvas.

The “Bandit” went all out for the victory over a Miura who all he wanted was the end of the round, but Vargas kept attacking him until the referee stopped the fight.

Without a doubt Miura and Vargas stole the night and received the recognition of Fight of the Year.

On June 4, 2016, in a bout helded at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, the “Bandit” retained his world title in another Fight of the Year, by drawing against his compatriot Orlando “Siri” Salido.

The fight met expectations, even exceeded them. It was an even fight and difficult to score, both fighters exchanged blows continuously, there were alternate domains where both went through difficult moments, but they showed great physical preparation where they did not stop throwing blows at any time.

After twelve intense rounds one of the judges gave the victory to Vargas by 115-113, while the other two judges 114-114 and 114-114.

Consolidated as one of the toughest champions of the moment and especially known for his bravery and fists power, Francisco took one more challenge in his career.

On January 29, 2017 at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, he faced Miguel “Alacrán” Berchelt, losing the title in another war.

This defeat did not stop him, he tried to regain the crown from him by challenging Berchelt; and although as is his custom he fought fiercely and gave his all, his corner decided to stop the fight considering that the “Bandit” was receiving a lot of punishment.

Vargas returned to the ring already in the lightweight division, getting two victories by knockout and making it clear that he still had something to give to boxing.

The “Bandit” returned to the ring on June 19 to face one of the most feared punchers in the lightweight division, his compatriot Isaac “Pitbul” Cruz, who took the victory on points over the former world champion, who finished with a tremendous cut on the right brow.

Once again the “Bandit” proved that he is a warrior who does not give up. He faced a younger and stronger opponent showing his great condition and bravery.

Until now the future in the career of the “Bandit” is uncertain, although it is always a guarantee of spectacle, it is possible that he has already fought his last fight, but we will always remember him as a tireless warrior and one of the bravest fighters of the last times.

By J. Landeros
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in these articles are only responsibility of their authors and do not reflect the views of the WBC.