Walsh Shines on Canelo-Crawford Card with Vargas Victory
On a night when Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford commanded the headlines, Cork’s “King” Callum Walsh seized his moment in the co-main event, producing a performance that was as composed as it was commanding, defeating Fernando Vargas Jr. via unanimous decision.
From the first bell, the Irish southpaw was in control. He took the centre of the ring with confidence, making Vargas circle the perimeter, and set to work with a relentless assault on the body.
A slip to the canvas midway through the opening round seemed less a stumble of skill than a reminder that he was treading waters with a respectively powerful adversary who holds 15 KO victories of his own. Yet the Irishman, hands low and eyes sharp, dictated the rhythm.
By the second round, hooks to the body became the metronome of the fight. Vargas swung heavy, missing with a right that whistled past Walsh’s head, only for the Corkman to punish him with a scintillating counter flurry to the body. Walsh’s feints teased, his footwork needled, and his opponent began to retreat under the pressure.
The fight ebbed and flowed through the middle rounds, with Vargas having his moments most notably in the fourth and fifth rounds where he strung together sharp one-twos and forced Walsh onto the back foot. A sweeping counter left hook from “King” Callum in the fourth served as a reminder that the Cork native carries power and polish in his punches.
By the midway point, the fight was a contest of persistence against precision, and it was Walsh who consistently dictated terms by chiselling away at Vargas’ midsection with a craftsman’s persistence.
The eight and ninth saw Walsh showcasing his confidence, hands down, and combinations flowing. Freddie Roach’s protige’s early investment to the body had their effect, as on occasion Vargas’ guard dropped, and Walsh’s shots upstairs found their mark, most notably a stiff straight right which snapped Vargas’ head back.
In the tenth and final round, both stood toe-to-toe ripping to each others body on occasion, with blood beginning to drip from Vargas’ mouth near the conclusion of the bout as with a crisp right hook and a final barrage of strikes to follow, securing himself a unanimous decision win on one of the biggest cards of the decade.
