Francisco Vargas

Francisco Javier Vargas Peláez (born December 25, 1984) is a Mexican professional boxer, also known for his nickname "El Bandido."

ESPN.com called the fight “the most dramatic comeback since the late Diego Corrales used a legendary 10th-round rally to stop Jose Luis Castillo and unify lightweight titles in 2005."

At the 2006 Central American Games, Vargas lost to eventual winner Yordenis Ugás 7:14.

At the 2007 Pan American Games, Vargas competed at featherweight.

He lost to David Souza.

As an amateur, Vargas represented Mexico at the 2008 Olympics as a lightweight.

At the first qualifier for the 2008 Olympics, Vargas was edged out by Juan Cuellar.

At the second qualifier, the 23-year-old beat Franz Mamani and the Canadian southpaw Ibrahim Kamal.

Vargas was then outpointed by Brazilian Éverton Lopes 6:11 but shut out Alexis Folleco 5:0 becoming the third Mexican boxer to qualify, after Arturo Santos Reyes and Óscar Valdez.

At the Olympics, Vargas defeated Jean de Dieu Soloniaina in his first bout but lost in the round of 16 to Georgian Popescu.

Vargas made his professional debut in March 2010, beating Daniel Calzada by unanimous decision.

In March 2012, Vargas signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions.

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Golden Boy Promotions family,” said Vargas.

“I know they have the resources to lead me to championship level and expand my fan base throughout Mexico and the United States.

I look forward to making them proud.” “It’s an honor to add another former Olympian to the Golden Boy Promotions roster,” said Oscar de la Hoya, president of Golden Boy.

“Boxing will never grow if we don’t keep bringing in new blood, and I’m confident Francisco will be an important player in the sport for many years to come.”

On March 31, 2012, Vargas made his debut under the Golden Boy banner with a third-round TKO of Carlos Martinez, kicking off a busy year that saw him add six more wins to his record.

In January 2013, Vargas faced veteran Ira Terry, knocking him out in just two rounds.

On May, Vargas stopped Cristian Arrazola in three rounds.

Vargas stepped up to the plate once again on August 9, 2013, when he met fellow unbeaten fighter Brandon Bennett for the NABF and WBO Intercontinental super featherweight titles.

Vargas won both belts by nearly shutting Bennett out over 10 rounds.

On December 13, 2013, Vargas won all 10 rounds in a decision victory over formerworld title challenger Jerry Belmontes.

On March 8, he made his first appearance of 2014, as he defeated Puerto Rico's Abner Cotto via unanimous decision.

From there, Vargas fought on the Canelo Álvarez vs. Erislandy Lara undercard and delivered a thrilling KO victory over Puerto Rican legend and former world champion Juan Manuel Lopez.

He followed that up with another knockout in Mexico against Genaro Camargo.

He held the WBC super featherweight title between 2015 and 2017.

In 2015, Vargas headlined his first HBO event against prospect Will Tomlinson in San Antonio on HBO Latino.

Vargas made scored his third knockout victory in a row with an eighth-round TKO.

Serving as the co-main event to the highly anticipated Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Álvarez event on November 21, 2015, Vargas faced WBC super featherweight champion Takashi Miura.

Miura and Vargas stole the show and received unanimous "Fight of the Year" nods from Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Bleacher Report, USA TODAY’s Boxing Junkie, The Sweet Science and Boxing Scene.

The action packed fight featured knockdowns, great performances and a lot of heart from two of boxing’s’ most respected warriors.

Vargas claimed the world title via ninth-round technical knockdown over Miura after suffering a knockdown during the fourth round.

It was announced in March 2016 that Vargas would be defending his title on June 4 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California against former featherweight world champion Orlando Salido.

A rematch clause was attached to the contract in case Salido defeated Vargas.

In what was described as another "Fight of the Year" candidate, Salido and Vargas fought to a 12-round majority draw.

Two judges had it 114-114 whilst the third had it 115-113 for Vargas, who as a result retained his WBC title.

Both fighters thought they had done enough to take the decision.

The fight was shown on HBO’s Boxing After Dark which averaged 833,000 viewers and hit a peak of 954,000 viewers.

On December 2, 2016, it was announced that Vargas and Miguel Berchelt would meet on January 29, 2017, at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California for the Vargas' WBC title.

Vargas and Berchelt traded punches in the early rounds, with cuts from Vargas' previous fights with Takashi Miura and Orlando Salido re-opening.