Mexico’s Francisco Vargas pummels opponent wearing ‘America 1st’ trunks into submission

Pennsylvania’s Rod Salka attempted to make a political statement Friday on his boxing trunks against Mexico’s Francisco Vargas and paid for it dearly at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.

Salka wore trunks with the words “America 1st” and bricks to symbolize President Donald Trump’s efforts to build a wall between Mexico and the United States.

Unfortunately, Salka’s metaphor fell on deaf ears as Vargas pummeled him into submission and forced his corner to throw in the towel and rescue their fighter from further punishment in the sixth round.

Vargas (25-1-1, 18 KOs) came into the fight looking to rebound after losing to Miguel Berchelt in January 2017 and was sidelined for much of the year after getting scar tissue removed from above both of his eyes. But Vargas probably didn’t expect to see his opponent make such a bold statement in the boxing ring.

Salka (24-5, 4 KOs) had won five in a row since being knocked out by Danny Garcia in a grotesque mismatch in August 2014. But Vargas was hellbent on making a statement, which may or may not have intensified when seeing Salka’s trunks.

Nevertheless, the fight was somewhat competitive early until the fifth round when Vargas’ power simply overwhelmed Salka. A right uppercut sent Salka to the canvas and was the first sign that the end was near. In the sixth, Vargas tore into the Trump supporter with a bevy of power shots and forced Salka’s corner to wave the white flag at the end of the round.