HBO Latino Recap: Vargas Stops Tomlinson in 8

0
1224

VargasTomlinson_HoganphotosFrancisco Vargas (21-0-1, 15KOs) stopped Australia’s Will Tomlinson in 8 rounds of their scheduled 10rounder in front of a San Antonio crowd at the Freeman Coliseum.

Both Vargas and Tomlinson tried to dictate the action in the ring early on, but it was Vargas’ picked the better shots and landed with more authority. Still, Tomlinson moved well to start the fight and ability to change levels was at least impressive, although his allusiveness may have been better suited against a fighter that cares more about being hit.

The 3rd round was when the action began to get explosive as Vargas plowed ahead and Tomlinson did his best to keep up. Tomlinson landed some hard shots throughout several exchanges, but Vargas was the one in his comfort zone, and you could see it benefiting the Mexican-born fighter.

Vargas suffered a cut on his right eye from an accidental head-butt in that same round, and referee Laurence Cole called timeout so that the ring doctor could have a look at the cut. That timeout seemed to do Tomlinson some good because he came right out of the timeout and started to put his punches together very well.

The problem was Tomlinson’s lack of movement when he was landing; he wasn’t quite getting in and out. Vargas eventually took Tomlinson’s momentum in the closing moments of the round has he landed a couple combinations, the last of which seemed to have its effect on Tomlinson who wasn’t noticeably wobbly, but his legs seemed a bit more drained than the seconds before the landed combo.

Vargas’ pressure was just too much for Tomlinson, who began to weaken with every passing round.

Vargas did some pretty significant damage in the 6th round as he beat up Tomlinson and never gave him the opportunity to get settled long enough to land punches in bunches. To his credit, Tomlinson continued to fight on and never wavered in the fight, but Vargas became a machine at some point in the mid rounds and it was clear he would not be stopped.

Heading into the 8th, Tomlinson was looking beat up. His face was busted up, and his corner was having a difficult time controlling the swelling. Vargas landed some devastating blows on Tomlinson, who had his back against the ropes. Vargas had clearly hurt Tomlinson, but it was a left hook to the body, left hook to the head combination that sent the Australian to the canvas and finished him for good.

Laurence Cole stopped the fight, giving Vargas the 8th round stoppage in an entertaining bout that should raise Vargas’ profile.