This was how Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune looked at Vargas in terms of his skill, power and experience as he compared them to Pacquiao, who fought more than twice the number that Vargas had fought.
“He’s a champion, he’s young but is not on the level of Pacquiao. He is an “A” fighter and Manny is “a triple ‘A’ fighter,“ said Fortune, who has joined the training camp just about a week ago.
Fortune is aware of what Vargas will bring to the table on fight night saying “he will definitely be out to do some damage. He’s definitely coming to fight. That’s the best thing about Vargas. He won’t run. He’ll come to fight. He’s a fighter.”
On Wednesday, Fortune was joined by Pacquiao’s head coach Freddie Roach, who flew in from the U.S. on Tuesday morning to take over Pacquiao’s training leading up to its final phase at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood a few days before the fight.
“I like what I see. He’s very inspired and aggressive. But what really surprised me was his punching power. I can feel it,” Roach said when interviewed by reporters Tuesday evening.
Vargas has fought 28 times since turning pro in 2008. He is coming off a TKO win against Saddam Ali last March at the D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C. to bag the WBO welterweight belt. Vargas’ lone career loss was against former Pacquiao foe Timothy Bradley last June.
The Vargas fight will be Pacquiao’s latest attempt to reclaim his WBO title which he lost to Floyd Mayweather last year. Mayweather later lost the title when he retired from boxing after beating Andre Berto for his 49th win in as many fights.
A win by Pacquiao over Vargas would not only enable him to claim his title back but it will cushion his declining popularity following his stunning KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez and unanimous decision loss to Mayweather.