Mauricio Sulaimán: “Negotiations Have Begun For Russell v Vargas”

Gary Russell v Rey Vargas ordered by WBC

Longtime WBC featherweight champion “Mr” Gary Russell (31-1, 18KOs) has failed to secure the big fights he was searching for. However, he now appears to be headed towards a very intriguing mandatory title defense. According to the WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán himself, former WBC super bantamweight champion Rey Vargas (34-0, 22KOs) will get his shot at becoming a two-division world champion.

Speaking to Behind The Gloves, Sulaimán revealed that the fight had been ordered between Russell and Vargas.

“No, he’s now in a mandatory stage. We have ordered Rey Vargas, who is the former super bantamweight champion. He was champion in recess and he’s moving up in weight and has exercised his option to become mandatory contender in a new division. So, we have ordered Rey Vargas to face Gary Russell and the free negotiations have begun.”

Vargas has not fought since July of 2019, where he outpointed Tomoki Kameda (36-3, 20KOs) by unanimous decision. He missed all of 2020 due to a broken leg, which resulted in him being named the WBC champion in recess. However, he has now elected to move up in weight and exercise his right to challenge the speedy featherweight champion Russell.

During his time as the super bantamweight champion, Vargas would make five title defenses. The 5’10 Mexican boxer-puncher has the frame and size to be a problem for fighters at 126. However, fans will be interested in seeing how he deals with a fighter that possesses the skills and hand and foot speed of Russell. Conversely, how will Russell deal with the height and length of Vargas?

Let us hope this fight gets made so we can find out the answers.3kingsboxing.com will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.

By: Jerrell Fletcher

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