Rey Vargas aims to capture third title on Showtime

Rey Vargas puts his undefeated record on the line against O’Shaquie Foster on Saturday as he tries to become an undefeated, three-division champion.

Showtime Boxing returns to the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX, as the vacant super featherweight crown will be on the line. 32-year-old, two-division champion Rey Vargas (36-0) will look to extend his undefeated streak while earning a world title in a third weight class. The man standing in his way is the hungry O’Shaquie Foster (19-2), who has gone through his own adversity on the way to the top and feels it’s his time to shine on the big stage.

Vargas has quietly made his impact on the sport as he won the WBC title in both the junior featherweight and featherweight divisions. That featherweight title was won in July as he beat Mark Magsayo (24-1) in a close fight by split decision. Although there were fights at featherweight to be made, Vargas decided to take advantage of the opportunity to fight for the vacant super featherweight title instead.

Vargas told FanSided, “Although I won the featherweight title in the summer, I still want to do things that aren’t normal within boxing. Many win titles within the sport, but not as many do it multiple times while being undefeated. Every time you mention world champions, the list is long, but when mentioning undefeated champions, that list is considerably smaller. I want to stay on that smaller list so that when people talk about those top fighters, they mention Rey Vargas.”

Rey Vargas vs. O’Shaquie Foster can be streamed live on the Showtime app

The confidence you hear from the two-division champion Vargas is warranted. Although his style can sometimes turn people off as the Klitschko brothers did, Vargas, at 5’ 7” with his 70” inch reach advantage, makes sure to use all of it. His size and reach created a nightmare for those at junior featherweight and featherweight, but would it do the same at super featherweight? “I feel the changes in my body when I moved from junior featherweight to featherweight and now super featherweight. I feel super featherweight is more of a natural weight class for me. Some advantages and disadvantages come along with my size. The disadvantage is that I’m competing at a new weight class, but the advantage is that there are opportunities to use that to win more titles,” said the always-confident Vargas.

While preparing for this fight, a familiar face will not be in Vargas’ corner: Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Beristain. During Vargas’ fights, Beristain was in his corner giving him the instructions between rounds, which were few but effective. Vargas mentioned his good relationship with Beristain and that they both understood what needed to be said in between rounds. Although some fans may think that Beristain was Vargas’ full-time trainer, he really wasn’t. During training camp, Beristain would come in once or twice a week while Vargas was sparring to give him some pointers. Most of the work was done between Vargas and his father, along with others contributing to his conditioning. While fans may look at ‘Nacho’ not being there as a big deal, Vargas doesn’t look at it the same way and feels like it’s business as usual when preparing for his fight on Saturday night.

When Vargas shows up to the Alamodome on Saturday for his fight against Foster, he will more than likely be welcomed with a loud ovation as he continues to try to make history and raise his profile within the boxing world. While he has a tall task at hand, one has to wonder what other plans Vargas has in mind for the rest of the year.

Vargas told FanSided, “I couldn’t tell you anything specific, but I do see myself being a three-division champion and having one defense of the title. Also, having that fight on Cinco de Mayo (May) or Mexican Independence Day (Sept.). I feel like I deserve a fight on one of those major holidays, and who knows, maybe even move up to another weight class.”

Vargas has lofty ambitions, and you really can’t blame him, as he knows he is competing against father time. The fans want to see and hear their favorite fighters wanting to go after it and not settle with just a fight once a year which has been the status quo for some as of late.

With the fans in mind, Vargas had this to say as he looks to elevate his career further “It’s going to be a fight filled with many emotions. You are going to see me become a three-division, undefeated champion. Thank you to all the fans who have followed me through the years and continue supporting my career. If you want to see a spectacular night of boxing, tune into my fight on February 11.”