Amado Vargas demanded a quick turnaround after being displeased with his previous outing.
The second-generation boxer received the outcome he desired in a third-round knockout of Angel Luna. A left hook by Vargas forced the chinny Dominican to the canvas and ultimately produced a 10-count at 2 minutes, 14 seconds of the third round Saturday at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Vargas – trained by his father Fernando Vargas, a former two-time junior middleweight titlist – spent much of the opening round using lateral movement. The Las Vegas-based prospect entered the fight just six weeks after a March 15 eight-round majority decision over Eduardo Hernandez Trejo in a disappointing showing in Long Beach, California.
Luna – now based out of The Bronx, New York – predictably stalked his unbeaten opponent. The closest he came to any success in cutting off the ring was when Vargas tripped to the canvas midway through the first.
It actually turned out to be a wake-up call for the 24-year-old Vargas, who increased his aggression and began to land power shots with regularity.
Luna tried to keep the fight at close range, determined to test Vargas’ chin. The unbeaten Vargas took advantage and connected to the body. Luna found his range towards the end of the round, when he landed a couple of left hooks along the ropes.
Vargas went back to his body attack in the third. He picked off the incoming Luna with left hooks and long right hands downstairs. Luna did not have any response other than to throw in reactionary mode. A left hook by Vargas concluded a three-punch combination, all of which found their target.
Luna was frozen along the ropes by a left hook. Vargas instinctively went on the attack. A right hand followed by a final, sweeping left hook snapped back Luna’s head and sent him crashing to the canvas. Luna, 20-16-1 (11 KOs), tried to beat the count, but he unwisely dropped back to a knee at eight. He was subsequently counted out for his second straight knockout defeat.
Vargas – whose brothers Emiliano and Fernando Jnr are also pro boxers – improved to 13-0 (6 KOs). A modest puncher, he has now stopped two of his past three opponents. The other early exit came in a sixth-round knockout of Sean Garcia, the younger brother of Ryan Garcia, on the Jorge Masvidal-Nate Diaz undercard last July 6 in Anaheim, California.
Vargas-Luna was elevated to the main event after Ashton “H2O” Sylve fell ill and was unable to move forward with his scheduled bout against Nicolas Polanco.
On the undercard, Javon Woodard Jnr defeated his most notable opponent to date.
Jayson Velez has seen better days, but he has a recognizable name that still looks good on a résumé. Woodard made the most of his opportunity, earning a seventh-round knockout over the faded former title challenger. Woodard scored knockdowns in Rounds 2 and 7, the latter courtesy of a body shot to end the night.
Their eight-round junior lightweight affair saw the locally based Woodard, 28, floor Puerto Rico’s Velez, 37, with a sweeping right hand in the second. Velez spent the rest of the night trying to pin down the fleet-footed Woodard, but he was unsuccessful for the most part.
Woodard made it easier for Velez as he stood in the pocket and opened up his offense more in the sixth and seventh rounds. Velez plowed forward but missed with most of his power punches. That plan ended when Woodard unloaded with a body shot that forced Velez to the canvas and prompted the end of the fight.
Woodard, 14-2 (12 KOs), picked up his second straight win after an August 2023 split decision defeat against Lorenzo Parra. The fight was even after eight rounds and extended into the ninth, per the rules for such even verdicts on the locally hosted Overtime Boxing Series.
Velez, 30-18 1 (21 KOs), has now suffered his 10th defeat in a row.
The farewell plans of Roddricus Livsey were ruined by a career opponent who forgot to read the script.
Lenwood Dozier snapped a 29-fight winless streak with a fifth-round knockout in a battle of middle-aged welterweights. A left hook put Livsey on the canvas, which produced the stoppage at 2 minutes, 56 seconds of Round 5.
The entertaining battle saw Washington, D.C.’s Dozier, 43, push the action throughout. Atlanta’s Livsey, 42, struggled with his opponent’s aggression, and eventually his power as well, as he was deposited on the deck late in the fifth.
It wasn’t the ideal ending to the fight or his career, but Livsey, 12-4-1 (9 KOs), made a promise to himself that Saturday’s hometown appearance would mark his final fight.
Dozier advanced to 11-40-3 (6 KOs), as he earned his first win since 2016.
