Antonio Vargas’ quest for a seventh straight victory ended in a frustrating no decision this past Friday when he faced Francisco Pedroza Portillo in the main event of “Night of Champions III at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, FL.
The card was promoted by Boxlab Promotions & Warriors Boxing.
Bantamweight contender Vargas (16-1, 9 knockouts) was in control of the fight when an accidental headbutt caused a cut above the left eye of Portillo (18-11-2, 10 KO’s) of Tijuana, Mexico in round two. The cut became progressively worse in the third, leading to the fight being called off before the fourth round of the scheduled ten-rounder.
Vargas, a 2016 U.S. Olympian and 2015 Pan American Games gold medalist from Kissimmee, FL, is rated no. 6 by the WBA at 118 pounds.
The event was aired on tape delay this past Saturday evening on the CBS Sports network.
In the co-main event, New York prospect Junior “The Young God” Younan (18-0-1, 11 KO’s) remained undefeated, defeating Alan Campa (18-8, 12 KO’s) by unanimous decision. The scores were 77-75 on two cards and 78-74 on the third, all for the 27-year-old Younan, who was fighting for the first time in ten months.
Prior to the Campa fight, the Brooklyn native had his breakout performance, stopping Dauren Yeleussinov in one round at Barclays Center in July of 2022
Opening up the televised portion of the card, blue chip Cuban American prospect Damian “The Punisher” Lescaille (4-0, 3 KO’s) ended matters early knocking out Nicaraguan fighter Freddy Espinoza (10-3, 7 KO’s) at 2:59 of the second round of their junior middleweight bout. Lescaille, 24, of Miami Beach by way of Camaguey, Cuba has been very busy since turning professional last October, fighting four times in seven months.
“I believe Central Florida and the CBSSN viewing audience was treated to another great card of boxing,” said Amaury Piedra of Boxlab Promotions.
“We saw Damian Lescaille show why he’s a fast-rising star once again displaying his boxing prowess and knockout power. Junior Younan was in the fight of the night with Alan Campa as these two put on a great show for the fans in a back-and-forth fight which really got the crowd excited. It was disappointing about the stoppage in the main event as Antonio Vargas was getting his rhythm going and was winning all the rounds however accidental headbutts happen in boxing and we’re just happy that both fighters are okay. We also had a chance to see some of our up-and-coming local fighters in action and they all looked fantastic and they continue their budding careers. We look forward to our next event May 26th on DAZN and we follow it up with a Saturday night prime time event on CBSSN July 29.”