Las Vegan Vargas eager to star on national stage

The latest phase of Jessie Vargas' career begins tonight as the 23-year-old undefeated welterweight from Las Vegas headlines a fight card for his new promoter, Top Rank.

Vargas faces Aaron Martinez in a 10-round main event at the Hard Rock Hotel that will be nationally televised on ESPN2. For Vargas (19-0, nine knockouts), who has a new manager in Cameron Dunkin, tonight is a big night.

"This is a huge step for me," Vargas said. "Cameron is trying to put me in a position where I will eventually fight for a world title."

To stay on that path, Vargas needs to win tonight and look impressive doing so. His past three fights have gone the distance, and the last time Vargas knocked anyone out was July 8, 2011, when he dropped Walter Estrada in the second round in Primm. Vargas was a junior welterweight then, and as his body continues to mature physically, he said he is discovering new-found strength.

"My legs are a lot stronger," he said. "I can feel like I have more power."

Vargas' trainer, Robert Alcazar, said he sees a difference in the gym.

"I'm expecting Jessie to knock this guy out," said Alcazar, who normally is reserved in his comments about Vargas' opponents. "He's still developing as a welterweight, but you can see how everything is coming together. He's more dedicated and more motivated. I think he wants to show Top Rank they did the right thing in signing him, and he wants to make Cameron proud of him."

As Vargas tries to get back on the knockout trail, he has had a good year. Prior to joining forces with Dunkin and Top Rank in July after being with Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s promotional company, he outlasted brawler Leandro Tyner on Feb. 24 and then came back and outboxed former world champion Steve Forbes on May 5.

"I may not have knocked those guys out, but I know I hurt them," Vargas said. "For me, what was important was staying with the game plan, listening to my corner and executing, which I did.

"In the Tyner fight, I learned how to keep my composure, no matter what. In the Steve Forbes fight, I learned how to change the tempo. I gave those guys a boxing lesson, and those things will help me with this fight and going forward."

Vargas said the plan is to fight the 30-year-old Martinez (18-1-1, four KOs) at a high tempo from the opening bell.

"I want to establish myself early, set the tone and feel my punches," Vargas said. "I think it's at a different level than before, and there's more pressure on me to perform than in the past. I want to be fighting for a world title, and the only way to do that is to fight good people and beat them convincingly."

First bell for the card, which includes Las Vegas lightweight Jesus Gutierrez (5-0, two KOs) meeting Joaquin Chavez (1-2-2, one KO) in a six-round bout, is at 5 p.m. The ESPN2 telecast begins at 7 p.m.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.