By Jim Dower: Fighting for the first time in close to 2 years, heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jr. destroys Devin Vargas in the 1st round in stopping him in a fight that was scheduled for 8 rounds at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Ruiz dropped the 36-year-old 2004 U.S Olympian Vargas with a big right hand to the head in the 1st. Referee Thomas Taylor then pulled the plug on the fight. The official time of the stoppage was at 1:38 of round 1. Ruiz was impressive with his hand speed and power. He showed that he hasn’t lost much of anything in the 2 years he’s been out of the ring.
It was a good win for the 29-year-old Ruiz, who has a lot of talent for a guy his size. Ruiz has s got to stay more active with his career. The last time Ruiz Jr. fight before tonight was in December 2016 in losing a controversial 12 round majority decision to Joseph Parker in a fight for the vacant WBO heavyweight title. Ruiz fought well enough to deserve the win in the eyes of many boxing fans, but he lost what you can argue was a hometown decision. Parker is from New Zealand, so he got the nod. What Ruiz should have done is stay busy with his career and fight 2 to 3 times per year. If he’d done that in 2017, he would be in position to fight for another heavyweight world title against IBF/WBA champion Anthony Joshua or WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
Vargas’ loss shows that things aren’t always rosy for Olympians. When Vargas turned pro 2004 after the Olympics, he was viewed as a talented fighter that could go far in the division. Things went well for Vargas for 5 years until he ran into journeyman Kevin Johnson and was stopped in the 6th round. It’s been a nightmare ever since for Vargas with him losing to Andrzej Wawrzyk by a 9th round knockout in September 2011, and then losing to 2012 U.S Olympian Dominic Breazeale by a 3rd round knockout in June 2014. Vargas took three years off from boxing after his loss to Breazeale until coming back to the sport in 2017 to pick up two victories over journeyman Tommy Washington Jr. and Galen Brown. Tonight’s defeat for Vargas is a reminder of how far away he is from the top-level opposition.
In other action on tonight’s card, light welterweight contender Alex Sauceo (27-0, 17 KOs) defeated journeyman Abner Lopez (25-8, 21 KOs) by a 7th round knockout. Saucedo dropped Lopez with a left to the body. The fight was then officially halted by referee Raul Caiz Sr. at 1:18 of round 7.
Unbeaten middleweight contender and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Edquiva Falcao (20-0, 14 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a 1st round knockout win over journeyman Salim Larbi (18-9, 5 KOs). Falcoa jumped all over Larbi in dropping him twice before the referee finally halted the mismatch at 2:06 of round 1.
Unbeaten 2016 Olympian Mikayla Mayer (4-0, 3 KOs) defeated Maria Semertzoglou (7-4, 2 KOs) by a 1st round knockout in light welterweight action on the card.