CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Ticker) - It was not as dynamic a night as his fans are used to, but Fernando Vargas' return to the ring was successful nonetheless. After a 15-month layoff for physical and personal reasons, Vargas posted a convincing 10-round unanimous decision over Raymond Joval of the Netherlands in a middleweight bout at the American Bank Center.
The 27-year-old Vargas (25-2, 22 KOs) barely was challenged, aside from a brief moment in the ninth round when he took a low blow that the referee did not see. His precise attack against the aggressive Joval led to a convincing win on the scorecards, 98-92, 96-94, 97-93.
"I have been away for awhile but I wanted to come back and try new things," said Vargas, who earned a seventh-round TKO over Tony Marshall in December 2003 before stepping aside. "I may not have been as tough as I wanted, but I am my own worst critic. I was just glad I was able to go 10 rounds and box and do some of the things that (trainer Danny Smith) has been teaching me."
In front of a pro-Vargas crowd eager to see the magic he showed in becoming the youngest light middleweight champion of all-time at the age of 21, Vargas got the first big blow in with a strong left hook in the third round that staggered Joval.
"I didn't get too overly excited when I hurt him," Vargas said. "I used my jab. I never thought I had a jab until Danny Smith told me I had a great jab." Vargas relied on the jab to keep some distance between he and the 36-year-old Joval but did not press the issue until the later rounds when the Dutch contender tired.
The middle rounds brought little action and an anxious rise out of the crowd. Vargas responded to the calls with a strong effort in the eighth round, taking over the fight as Joval's attack waned. The low blow allowed Joval to get in a few quick shots while Vargas winced in pain and collapsed to the ropes, but Vargas recovered and coasted over the final two rounds.
Vargas indicated after the fight that he will return to the light middleweight class and has his eyes set on the WBC title, currently held by Javier Castillejo.