MANILA, Philippines – Saying the boxing media has never given him enough credit, WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas promised to turn them and all his other critics into believers once he defeats Manny Pacquiao.
In a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, Vargas expressed frustration at how critics purportedly belittle his selection as Pacquiao’s next opponent for a November 5 bout in Las Vegas.
“The press has never had my back,” Vargas told Iole, who reported sensing anger in the Las Vegas-based fighter’s words.
The 27-year-old Vargas is a 10-1 underdog over Pacquiao, and his selection as the Filipino icon’s next foe has indeed raised eyebrows in the boxing community.
Pacquiao, many critics claim, should have picked a more dangerous opponent such as rising star Terence Crawford.
Vargas, for his part, isn’t taking the criticisms lightly and vowed to silence those who doubt him the moment the bell rings in his showdown with Pacquiao.
“I’m going to tear this guy apart to prove all these doubters, the haters. It’s nothing against Manny; I just have to do what I have to do. The anger that I have is because of the way I have been treated by some in the press,” he continued.
Iole then reported that Vargas later on personally apologized to him for his rant.
Vargas isn’t known as a heavy puncher, as evidenced by scoring only 10 knockouts in 27 wins. Additionally, he lost to Timothy Bradley, a fighter whom Pacquiao had dominated in their trilogy.
The champion said he is treating the criticisms as motivation.
“The way I’ve been treated, that gives me a lot of fuel and I’m using that as fire to come out with this victory,” said Vargas.
“When I beat Manny Pacquiao, I’ll tell all the critics in the press, ‘You doubted me before; well, doubt me after that. When they see what I do to Pacquiao, let’s see if they’re still going to doubt me.” - Dino Maragay