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Jessie Vargas stayed undefeated and won his first world title tonight, lifting the WBA junior welterweight belt from Khabib Allakhverdiev via unanimous decision. Scores were 115-113, 115-113, and 117-111 for Vargas. BLH had it 114-114.
Vargas (24-0, 9 KO) started fast in the bout, with his jab pumping nicely and a good uppercut. The uppercut stayed in play all the way, but Vargas seemed to lose the jab after the early round, allowing Allakhverdiev (19-1, 9 KO) to claw his way back into the fight.
In the eighth round, an accidental headbutt resulted in a nasty cut on Allakhverdiev, but the Russian fought through it very well. While clearly bothering him, it didn't seem to interfere with his performance much. In the end, Vargas had done just enough on two cards, despite seeming to all but give away the 12th round. On the third, obviously, he was well ahead, a questionable score to say the least, but hardly the worst you've seen this month or week or whatever.
Our live coverage continues here, with Ray Beltran facing Arash Usmanee in a 12-round lightweight bout.