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LAS VEGAS -- One of the first right hands that "Sugar" Shane Mosley landed in the first round raised swelling on Fernando Vargas' left eye.
By the 10th round, the eye was closed and grotesquely swollen, and referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight.
For Mosley, it was a dominant TKO victory in the junior middleweight showdown between the Southern California superstars on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, and a new lease on his ring life.
Mosley, 34, a former lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight champ, had been on the slide the past few years, as was Vargas. But now, with his first meaningful victory since winning a rematch against Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, Mosley has extended his shelf life as a marquee fighter.
AP Photo/Eric Jamison
Vargas (left) got in his shots, but didn't last against Mosley's constant barrage.
"In the first round, I hit him in the eye with a right hand," Mosley said. "As the rounds went on, [the swelling] got bigger and bigger, and I was like, 'Wow.' I was looking over at [promotional partners] Bernard [Hopkins] and Oscar and they were yelling, 'The eye! The eye!' That fight shows that I am very strong. It was a great fight."
Vargas' future, however, is about as murky as his vision. Although he is only 28, it's an old 28. The former two-time junior middleweight champ has lost his three biggest fights by knockout to Mosley, De La Hoya (11th round) and Felix Trinidad (12th round), coincidentally all in the Mandalay Bay ring.
He has also had a serious back problem, sat out for nine months on a steroids suspension and struggled with his weight.
By the eighth round, Vargas' left eye was severely swollen and virtually closed. Mosley, meanwhile, continued throwing fast combinations and targeting the eye with his right hand as the swelling got worse and worse.
Between rounds, Vargas' eye was closely examined and it appeared completely shut. But the fight was allowed to continue.
In the ninth, Mosley (42-4, 36 KOs) continued to torture Vargas' eye; Vargas simply could not see the shots coming. Still, the fight was allowed to continue.
But between rounds, Cortez, ringside physician David Watson and Nevada commission executive director Marc Ratner huddled to talk about the condition of Vargas' eye. The outcome: If Vargas couldn't avoid the continual right-hand assault, they had to stop the fight.
AP Photo/Eric Jamison
Vargas' swollen eye shut down his night.
Mosley, who earned $3 million plus a percentage of the pay-per-view profits, continued to rain shots in the 10th -- mainly right hands -- and Cortez finally stopped the fight at 1:22.
HBO will replay the bout Saturday (10 p.m. ET) along with the live Miguel Cotto-Gianluca Branco junior welterweight title fight.
Mosley led on two scorecards at the time of the stoppage, but incredibly was behind 86-85 on judge Patricia Jarman's card.
Vargas (26-3), who earned $4 million plus a percentage of the pay-per-view profits, will be lighter in the wallet after betting Mosley $100,000 on whomever could score a knockout.
Vargas certainly seemed to agree with Jarman's scoring of the fight.
"It was a head butt in the second or third round that caused the swelling," he said. "It started to become a problem in the seventh round. I was wondering why they stopped the fight because I was putting pressure on him and backing him into the ropes. I kept wondering why they stopped the fight."
Although Vargas did not comment on his future beyond the obligatory, "I'll take a break and then talk things over with my family," Mosley should find himself in another major fight soon. He wants the pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is scheduled to face Zab Judah on April 8 in a welterweight fight.
"Mayweather is the No. 1 guy," Mosley said of his desired fight.
Mosley came out fast in the first round and peppered Vargas with flurries to start the swelling. Vargas resorted to two low blows and was warned, but Mosley shook it off and landed some crisp right hands.
Mosley continued to fight at a fast pace in the second round, placing hard body shots and right hands. He was clearly the quicker fighter as Vargas was throwing one punch at a time.
Vargas, whose right eye also began to swell, continued to throw low blows in the third before being sternly warned by Cortez. By the end of the round, Mosley and Vargas were brawling in close quarters and the crowd was going wild.
The pace slowed a bit in the fifth, which gave Vargas a chance to land shots and post his best round. But Mosley came back in the sixth and continued to display much faster hands than Vargas. As the round was winding down, Mosley hammered Vargas with flurries in the corner and the eye was getting worse.
LAS VEGAS -- One of the first right hands that "Sugar" Shane Mosley landed in the first round raised swelling on Fernando Vargas' left eye.
By the 10th round, the eye was closed and grotesquely swollen, and referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight.
For Mosley, it was a dominant TKO victory in the junior middleweight showdown between the Southern California superstars on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, and a new lease on his ring life.
Mosley, 34, a former lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight champ, had been on the slide the past few years, as was Vargas. But now, with his first meaningful victory since winning a rematch against Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, Mosley has extended his shelf life as a marquee fighter.
AP Photo/Eric Jamison
Vargas (left) got in his shots, but didn't last against Mosley's constant barrage.
"In the first round, I hit him in the eye with a right hand," Mosley said. "As the rounds went on, [the swelling] got bigger and bigger, and I was like, 'Wow.' I was looking over at [promotional partners] Bernard [Hopkins] and Oscar and they were yelling, 'The eye! The eye!' That fight shows that I am very strong. It was a great fight."
Vargas' future, however, is about as murky as his vision. Although he is only 28, it's an old 28. The former two-time junior middleweight champ has lost his three biggest fights by knockout to Mosley, De La Hoya (11th round) and Felix Trinidad (12th round), coincidentally all in the Mandalay Bay ring.
He has also had a serious back problem, sat out for nine months on a steroids suspension and struggled with his weight.
By the eighth round, Vargas' left eye was severely swollen and virtually closed. Mosley, meanwhile, continued throwing fast combinations and targeting the eye with his right hand as the swelling got worse and worse.
Between rounds, Vargas' eye was closely examined and it appeared completely shut. But the fight was allowed to continue.
In the ninth, Mosley (42-4, 36 KOs) continued to torture Vargas' eye; Vargas simply could not see the shots coming. Still, the fight was allowed to continue.
But between rounds, Cortez, ringside physician David Watson and Nevada commission executive director Marc Ratner huddled to talk about the condition of Vargas' eye. The outcome: If Vargas couldn't avoid the continual right-hand assault, they had to stop the fight.
AP Photo/Eric Jamison
Vargas' swollen eye shut down his night.
Mosley, who earned $3 million plus a percentage of the pay-per-view profits, continued to rain shots in the 10th -- mainly right hands -- and Cortez finally stopped the fight at 1:22.
HBO will replay the bout Saturday (10 p.m. ET) along with the live Miguel Cotto-Gianluca Branco junior welterweight title fight.
Mosley led on two scorecards at the time of the stoppage, but incredibly was behind 86-85 on judge Patricia Jarman's card.
Vargas (26-3), who earned $4 million plus a percentage of the pay-per-view profits, will be lighter in the wallet after betting Mosley $100,000 on whomever could score a knockout.
Vargas certainly seemed to agree with Jarman's scoring of the fight.
"It was a head butt in the second or third round that caused the swelling," he said. "It started to become a problem in the seventh round. I was wondering why they stopped the fight because I was putting pressure on him and backing him into the ropes. I kept wondering why they stopped the fight."
Although Vargas did not comment on his future beyond the obligatory, "I'll take a break and then talk things over with my family," Mosley should find himself in another major fight soon. He wants the pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is scheduled to face Zab Judah on April 8 in a welterweight fight.
"Mayweather is the No. 1 guy," Mosley said of his desired fight.
Mosley came out fast in the first round and peppered Vargas with flurries to start the swelling. Vargas resorted to two low blows and was warned, but Mosley shook it off and landed some crisp right hands.
Mosley continued to fight at a fast pace in the second round, placing hard body shots and right hands. He was clearly the quicker fighter as Vargas was throwing one punch at a time.
Vargas, whose right eye also began to swell, continued to throw low blows in the third before being sternly warned by Cortez. By the end of the round, Mosley and Vargas were brawling in close quarters and the crowd was going wild.
The pace slowed a bit in the fifth, which gave Vargas a chance to land shots and post his best round. But Mosley came back in the sixth and continued to display much faster hands than Vargas. As the round was winding down, Mosley hammered Vargas with flurries in the corner and the eye was getting worse.
