Emiliano Fernando Vargas squared off against Larry Fryers and pulled off a contentious TKO victory that has left the fans divided.
The fight began with Fryers aggressively pressing Vargas, but the tide turned in the second round as Vargas showcased his quick hands and control. He landed crisp combinations and kept Fryers at bay. By the third round, Vargas was firmly in the driver's seat, executing a series of impressive combinations.
However, the fight took a controversial turn in the fifth round when Emiliano Vargas landed a powerful body shot followed by a left hook that sent Fryers to the canvas. The referee stepped in, calling an end to the fight at the 1:23 mark of the fifth round.
Check out the finish below:
Fans quickly took to X to question the stoppage win and whether Fryers could have continued. They wrote:
"Trash stoppage to pad his record…"
"Ref never gave him a chance. Fryers was in the process of getting up & would have been OK. SMH [shaking my head]"
"Big fan of Emeliano, but his opponent was getting up. Cmon."
"Too quick of stoppage for me, even though Vargas is clearly the better fighter."
"Referee knew Vargas' hand was compromised and stopped the fight as soon as he could."
Check out some of the reactions below:
Emiliano Vargas hopes to carve his own legacy
Emiliano Vargas, the son of former two-time light middleweight world champion Fernando Vargas, is determined to carve his own legacy in boxing while learning from his father's journey. Vargas recently improved his undefeated record to 12-0 with a TKO win over Larry Fryers.
Ahead of his clash against Fryers, Emiliano acknowledged the pressure of living up to his father's legacy. However, he claimed that he aims to avoid the pitfalls that led to burnout for many fighters. Speaking in an interview with Boxing Scene, he said:
“I didn't really get to see my dad's career too much, but just all the stories and everything like that and being around it really helped me. I mean, there’s always going to be pressure, regardless. People are always gonna talk. Personally, it's something that I live with, and I don't really care anymore... I'm going to continue to do me. I'll continue to win and shine like the star I know God blessed me to be. And I’ll walk in his favor. So at the end of the day, I'm gonna continue to shine.” [H/t: Boxing Scene]