Regal Rey wins the WBC featherweight title

WBC Press

At the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, the height of Lone Star achievement, as Rey Vargas defeated Mark Magsayo by split decision, in a masterful technical fight.

From the start Rey used his extraordinary reach via a ramrod left jab and some accurate long rights, also punishing Mark`s body with constant heavy bombardment. The difference was that Rey was fighting on the front foot and often as not standing his ground, rather than milling on the retreat.

Mark tried to get inside that octopus long reach and when he did he landed some crisp right hands, but the wily, lanky challenger was most careful not to get backed up and trapped against the ropes.

Rey was cut over the left eye after clash of heads in the seventh, but Nacho Beristain did a superb job of staunching the blood, only applying grease a couple of rounds later, in the one minute respite interval, after the bleeding stopped.

Mark`s right cheek was also swelling and he was trying to close the distance to land his power punches. This he achieved in the ninth with a blistering counter right hand to Rey`s jaw and the Mexican went down, but got up quickly and fought back well.

Rey dominated the tenth but was on the back foot in the eleventh and got caught with a short chopping right as the bell rang. In the final round Mark charged, but was met with long jolting left jabs and couldn’t catch up with an evasive and elusive Rey.

After those twelve rounds, it went to the scorecards where the judges decided a split decision for Rey Vargas.

Judges Tim Cheatham (115-112) and David Sutherland (115-112) scored in favor of Rey, while judge Jesse Reyes scored 114-113 for Mark.

With this victory, Rey Vargas clad in a black WBC shirt and cap, holding aloft the coveted Green and Gold Belt, with his jubilant father by his side, has won World Boxing Council championships in two divisions, since he reigned in super bantamweight and now as featherweight supremo. He’s still undefeated in thirty six fights.

He praised the fox like astuteness of International Boxing Hall of Fame Trainer Nacho Beristain calling him a wolf and declaring himself as Nacho`s twenty ninth world champion!