LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 19: Emiliano Vargas poses during a ceremonial weigh-in prior to their lightweight bout against Rafael Jasso at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 19, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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Emiliano Vargas is the son of a boxing legend, but he is also his own man. Vargas is determined to win a world championship and the next step happens on Saturday, June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Vargas will take on Bryce Mills in the co-main event of a DAZN pay-per-view headlined by unified 154-pound champion Xander Zayas's title defense against Jaron "Boots" Ennis.
I spoke with Vargas about the fight with Mills, his future, his lineage and legacy.
Vargas is seemingly expecting Mills to try to come forward and to put the pressure on him.
"I'm going to shine. That's what God called me to do," Vargas said. "We've done everything necessary up until this point to do that. Bryce Mills, this is the biggest fight for him, and I know this is going to take me to another level."
He believes he's already on the doorstep. "I'm right in front of the door of title contention, and I'm knocking. Rank number two in the WBO, number 12 in the WBC, number seven in the WBA, if I'm not mistaken," Vargas said. "I'm going to show June 27 that there are levels. Bryce Mills isn't ready for me. There's no way, shape or form he beats me."
The matchup wasn't his first choice, and he isn't hiding it.
"I wanted a former world champion for this fight, but they didn't want to step on the line," Vargas said. “I've got to fight the next guy in front of me and take care of business. Bryce Mills is in the way of that, and I've got to steamroll him.”
According to Vargas, Mills is a one-dimensional fighter. Mills' record would suggest he's not a big puncher, though he likes to bang like a slugger.
"He only knows how to fight one way, and it's coming forward. That's it," Vargas said. "For a guy with nine knockouts, he comes like he has 30-some knockouts. I'm going to pick this guy apart and show that my boxing ability is beyond reproach."
He credits the camp for his confidence. "We've done everything necessary to bring in the right guys in training camp, identical styles that I'm sparring every single day," Vargas said. "I think that's a big factor. This guy, Bryce Mills, has a rude awakening."
He even flipped Mills’ own slogan back on him. "He always puts on his strongest 'don't blink.' I'm going to tell him to take his own advice," Vargas said.
Vargas loves and respects his father, but he is adamant about establishing his own path.
"I'm the master of my career, and I'm grateful that my father gives me the opportunity to do so," Vargas said. "A lot of father-son dynamics don't work because they try to micromanage or live through their son. My father tells me, 'Live your dream. Whatever you want to do, let's do it.'"
That freedom shapes how he treats the family name. "I take the good and the bad of his career and put it into my career," Vargas said. "At the end of the day, I'm the one stepping in the ring. My parents respect that, and I'm grateful for that."
What he won't do is imitate. "I would never try to be my father. A lot of sons of successful athletes try to be like their father, but I'm in my own lane," Vargas said. "I'm not going to dye my hair blonde and do the tips. We leave that in the 90s. There's nobody like him on this planet, so I'm just going to be me." His bottom line: “You could be Muhammad Ali's grandson. Nobody's going to hand you a world title. You've got to get in there and fight.”
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Vargas wasn't too keen on looking past Mills, but he made no mistake about his long-term intentions. He's hunting for championship gold and supremacy in the weight class.
"What matters to me is whoever's in the road of me getting my world title shot, whether it's number two, three, four or five. I don't care who it is," Vargas said. "For me, it's really not about names." He framed the title as a certainty: "Comparison is the thief of joy. It's inevitable for me not to fight for a world championship because I train so hard. I'm being patient and putting my full trust in God and my team."
The dream fight has a name or maybe two. While also talking openly about a matchup with Ryan Garcia, another champion’s name kept coming up.
Vargas wants a Shakur Stevenson showdown, recalling their sparring when he was 17. "I gave him great work, better work than anybody else that day," Vargas said. "I'm not going to respect anybody I'm in there with. You're a man, you bleed the way I bleed. If that does happen, I would love for it to happen."
He had a read on the main event, too. "If Xander comes real tight, like Cotto, and just digs that body, I think he can do it," Vargas said. "Nobody's touched Jaron Ennis to the body like that. But it's all risk for Xander, two belts on the line, and Ennis has no belt on the line. My respect to Xander. He's a star."
Takes one to know one.
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