Vargas 143, Harris 145

Vargas 143, Harris 145

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

April 7, 2011

It took former WBA junior welterweight champion “Vicious” Vivian Harris four tries and an additional hour and a half to make 145 pounds for tonight's Telefutura Solo Boxeo main event, but he may be on his last opportunity to retain relevancy in the boxing landscape as he takes on young undefeated prospect Jessie Vargas in the ten round headliner.

Harris [29-5-1, 19 KOs], who lifted the WBA 140-pound title with an emphatic second round stoppage of Diosbelys Hurtado in 2002, first tipped the scales at 146.5 pounds and was forced to make weight by Vargas trainer Cornelius Boza-Edwards, himself a former world champion. When Harris came back an hour later and still weighed three ounces over, Boza-Edwards was intent on making him drop it and make 145 even.

“We used to have to make weight the day of the fight,” recalled Boza-Edwards. “You can run off two tenths of a pound.”

The Brooklyn, New York native by way of Guyana came back 45 minutes later and had to strip down, finally making 145 pounds on his fourth attempt.

For Vargas [14-0, 7 KOs], who weighed in at 143, Harris represents the biggest step up in his career as he is coming off a disappointing performance against perennial trial horse Cristian Favela on one of Golden Boy's Nokia Live Fight Night cards back in February.

Against Favela, a .500 fighter, Vargas struggled mightily and earned a decision although many thought a draw would have been a fair verdict. An impressive showing against Harris, who was once regarded as a legitimate threat to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s perfect record prior to suffering an upset loss to unheralded Carlos Maussa in 2005, would reestablish the young fighter who was born and raised in Las Vegas, a rarity in the sport.

Harris was stopped in his last two fights, cleanly against Victor Ortiz last September and controversially against Lucas Matthysse last February. Vargas represents a step down in competition from those two opponents meaning a loss to the 21-year old fighter could signal the end of a once promising career. Fans tuning in can expect an intriguing main event as it looks to be a true crossroads bout.

In a competitive co-feature at just above the middleweight limit, undefeated former Ghanaian Olympian Bastie Samir [10-0, 10 KOs] takes his biggest step up in competition as he fights Lester Gonzalez [11-3-1, 6 KOs] in a six-rounder. Gonzalez, a lefty from San Diego, California, will serve as a baromter for where Samir stands amongst other middleweight prospects, particularly Sacramento, California middleweight Brandon Gonzales, who served Samir's opponent a one-sided decision loss in Solo Boxeo's opening broadcast of 2011 back on January 7^th. Gonzalez was stopped for the first time in his last fight as he failed to come out of his corner for the ninth round against Eromosele Albert in February. A legitimate stoppage victory over Gonzalez would not only help keep Samir's perfect string of knockouts intact, but would force him to standout amongst the other young fighters trying to make their mark at middleweight. Samir weighed in at 161.5 pounds while Gonzalez tipped the scales at 163.

Tonight's six bout card of world class professional boxing is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Roy Englebrecht Promotions’ special edition of “Fight Club Primm,” and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T. Doors open at 6:00pm PT, the first bell rings at 7:00pm PT and the televised Solo Boxeo broadcast begins at 11:30pm ET / PT (10:30pm CT).

Tickets, priced at $50 (Floor) and $20 (General Admission), may be purchased at the Star of the Desert Arena Box Office or online at www.primmvalleyresorts.com.

Weigh-in Quick Results:

Jessie Vargas [14-0, 7 KOs], 143 vs. Vivian Harris [29-5-1, 19 KOs], 145*, 10 rounds

Bastie Samir [10-0, 10 KOs], 161.5 vs. Lester Gonzalez [11-3-1, 6 KOs], 163, 6 rounds

Eddie Gomez [3-0, 3 KOs], 150.5 vs. Roberto Lopez [4-1-2, KO], 150.5

Quadtrine Hill [4-1, KO], 219.5 vs. Alexander Flores [3-0, 2 KOs], 225.5

Kai Zama [5-2, 3 KOs], 139 vs. Paul Green [1-1], 136.5

Tatini Anderson [3-1, 3 KOs], 139 vs. Lissette Medel [2-1], 138