"I'm returning September 15th and Cameron [Dunkin] is going to get back to me with an opponent," stated undefeated welterweight contender Jessie Vargas, who was pleased to announce that he'll be returning to the ring on the upcoming September 15th pay-per-view card headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Sergio Martinez. Vargas, who recently signed with Top Rank, will be making his promotional debut with the company after parting ways with his former promoter, Mayweather Promotions.
No stranger to fighting on pay-per-view after being heavily promoted on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's events, it makes sense that Top Rank would want the undefeated Mexican-American to make his debut on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day. "I'm honored and blessed to be a part of a card of this magnitude in my first Top Rank show," Vargas continued. The question, however, is who will he be facing? Although an opponent has yet to be determined, sources say that there's a strong push to secure the services of newly-crowned IBF welterweight champion Randall Bailey.
Bailey recently captured the vacant title on a previous Top Rank pay-per-view event, knocking out then-undefeated Mike Jones on the undercard of Pacquiao vs. Bradley. Although Bailey had reportedly agreed to face top welterweight contender Devon Alexander, contracts have yet to be signed and lately, he has been extremely vocal in expressing his desire to face Alexander in a neutral location, namely Las Vegas, as opposed to Alexander's hometown of St. Louis, where the bout was rumored to be heading. In fact, Bailey has made it crystal clear that he has other options besides Alexander, even suggesting that he too could possibly be fighting on the September 15th Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez event. Furthermore, according to sources, Bailey is now saying that he has no promoter, which may come as a surprise to promoter Lou DiBella, who had been negotiating with Golden Boy Promotions on Bailey's behalf.
It remains to be seen if Jessie Vargas will indeed be making his Top Rank debut in a world title shot against Randall Bailey, however, if he does, this will be a major turn of events in the war between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, as well as the battle between network giants HBO and Showtime, who are tentatively scheduled to go head-to-head on September 8th when Andre Ward faces Chad Dawson on HBO and Devon Alexander presumably faces Randall Bailey on Showtime. Stay tuned as this story continues to develop.
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