Timothy Bradley vs Jessie Vargas: No Rematch?

There will be no rematch between interim WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. and Jesse Vargas despite the controversial ending to their match last June 27 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

It will be recalled that Bradley was leading in the scorecards but Vargas connected with a hard right punch that seemed to have dazed Bradley with about 10 seconds left in the final round.

The controversy came in when referee Pat Russell stepped in which Vargas mistakenly took as the referee stopping the fight.

As it turned out, Russell mistook the warning tap as the final bell depriving Vargas to follow up his well-timed right hand punch.

The World Boxing Association (WBO) decided not to hold a rematch despite the premature ending to the June 27 bout, thus retaining the unanimous decision victory awarded to Bradley.

Vargas was dominated for the entire bout until the dying seconds when he could have knocked out Bradley before the final bell. The decision douses all hopes of the Vargas camp for a rematch between the two fighters.

It was the second controversial win for Bradley. Back in June 9, 2012, Bradley won a controversial split-decision win over Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

To settle the dispute, Bradley and Pacquiao would face off once again on April 12, 2014 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with Pacquiao winning this time via unanimous decision while at the same time ending Bradley’s undefeated record.

Sadly, Vargas will not be granted an immediate rematch after the WBO’s verdict. There is a possibility that both fighters could face each other again in the future since both Bradley and Vargas both being under Top Rank.

To make it happen, Vargas will have to give up his WBA light welterweight title and start fighting boxers in the welterweight division. Given enough victories, Vargas could work his way up to be the no. 1 contender and fight Bradley once again, provided he is still the WBO welterweight title holder.

As far as Bradley is concerned, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is currently weighing his options on who the American boxer could face.

Arum is said to be hinting at Sadam Ali as Bradley’s possible next opponent which could possibly be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Ali is the WBO top welterweight contender.

Aside from Ali, other names being mentioned include Kazhak destroyer Gennady Golovkin or possibly fellow American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Bradley will most likely be elevated to full beltholder after the WBO stripped Floyd Mayweather of the WBO Welterweight title.