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Mayweather Promotions prospect Jessie Vargas stayed undefeated with a well-earned, split decision win over Josesito Lopez in the pay-per-view opener on the Mayweather vs Ortiz card tonight in Las Vegas. Official scores were 96-93 and 95-94 for Vargas, and 95-94 for Lopez. Bad Left Hook scored it 95-94 for Vargas.
Vargas (17-0, 9 KO) simply outlanded Lopez (29-4, 17 KO) over the course of the fight, landing 167 punches to Lopez's 122, and throwing 851 to Vargas' 509. Lopez did land plenty of good shots, and had Vargas momentarily stunned a few times in the bout.
But Lopez just didn't stay busy enough, and in some ways you can argue that his stretches of inactivity may have cost him the fight. In the end, Vargas (who was docked a point in a questionable, quick call by Tony Weeks in round eight) was good enough from distance, used his jab well enough, and handled Lopez's good pressure well enough to escape with the win in a fight that lived up to its promise as an action contest.
Our Mayweather vs Ortiz undercard coverage continues, so join us for the next fight between Erik Morales and Pablo Cesar Cano.