Fernando Vargas vs. Ricardo Mayorga, billed as The Brawl, was a professional boxing match contested on November 23, 2007.
Background After having reached an agreement in May 2007, the fight between 2-time light middleweight champion Fernando Vargas and 2-division champion Ricardo Mayorga was formally announced at press conference on July 11. As customary with Mayorga, when it was his turn to speak, he used unrelenting trash talk to insult his opponent. Mayorga referred to Vargas as "fatty" due to Vargas' insistence on fighting at a catchweight of 162 pounds, vowed to retire him and claimed that he would be doing Vargas' wife "a favor and not let her cry anymore after I disfigure you." Immediately after Mayorga made the statement about his wife, Vargas stood up and confronted Mayorga, who slapped Vargas, who in turn landed two blows to Mayorga as both fighter's respective parties separated the two. After order was restored and Mayorga left the room, Vargas announced that the fight would be his last, claiming that "pride" was the reason for taking the fight as he did not want to end his career on the consecutive losses he had suffered to Shane Mosley the previous year.Mayorga, Vargas come to blows at fight press conference, ESPN article, 2007-07-12 Retrieved on 2025-06-20
The fight was originally scheduled to take place on September 8, however, after feeling sluggish and tired while training for the bout, Vargas was diagnosed with anemia following a doctor's visit. Per doctor's orders, Vargas was told he could not train for three weeks resulting in the fight being postponed and ultimately rescheduled for November 23.Vargas farewell bout postponed due to anemia, ESPN article, 2007-08-25 Retrieved on 2025-06-22Vargas-Mayorga bout in L.A. rescheduled for Nov. 23, ESPN article, 2007-08-30 Retrieved on 2025-06-22 Due to his illness, Vargas insisted on the original agreed upon catchweight of 162 pounds being moved up to 166 pounds, two pounds under the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds.Timing deflates Vargas-Mayorga, Bad Left Hook article, 2007-11-19 Retrieved on 2025-06-22 Both fighters weighed in at 164 pounds, two pounds under the catchweight.Fernando Vargas fights Ricardo Mayorga in final trip to the ring, ESPN article, 2007-11-22 Retrieved on 2025-06-22
Fight Details Main Event
Mayorga scored the fights only two knockdowns, first sending Vargas down in the final 20 seconds of the first round after landing a hard combination and then again in the eleventh round after scoring flush with a right hand in the final seconds before the round ended. The two knockdowns suffered proved costly for Vargas as he would lose a close majority decision to Mayorga, who took two of the judge's official scorecards by scores of 115–111 and 114–112 while the third had the fight even at 113–113.Mayorga wins 12-round majority decision over Vargas, ESPN article, 2007-11-24 Retrieved on 2025-06-22
Fight card Confirmed bouts: Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round NotesCatchweight166 lbs.Ricardo Mayorga def.Fernando Vargas MD12/12Welterweight147 lbs.Kermit Cintrón def.Jesse FelicianoTKO10/12Light Middleweight154 lbs.Roman Karmazindef.Alejandro GarcíaKO3/12Preliminary boutsSuper Featherweight130 lbs.Jason Litzaudef.Edel RuizUD10/10Lightweight135 lbs.Fernando Angulodef.Damian FullerUD10/10Light Middleweight154 lbs.Henry Crawforddef.Jose Juan BermejoUD8/8Heavyweight200+ lbs.Evans Quinndef.Victor BarraganTKO1/8Light Middleweight154 lbs.Nelson Linaresdef.Jorge Alberto PadillaUD8/8
Broadcasting Country Broadcaster Showtime
References