THE BRAWL
VARGAS Vs. MAYORGA

THE BRAWL :
FERNANDO VARGAS Vs. RICARDO MAYORGA
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Distributed by Canadastar Boxing Inc.
To Canadian Commercial Locations
On Closed Circuit-Pay Per View

RICARDO MAYORGA
PROFILE AND BIO

Rarely do boxers love to fight the way "El Matador" Ricardo Mayorga does. He fights with the recless abandon and fearlessness of a teenager in a street brawl. Growing up on the rough streets of Managua, Nicaragua, instilled a fire in him that still burns to this day.

Mayorga witnessed the importance of mental and physical toughness at an early age. "I come from a country where everything is war," he said. "Even the women are tough. In Nicaragua, women give birth wherever - in the middle of the street, in the countryside - and with no medical attention. You see that and it puts a totally different persepective on things."

Mayorga has had some high-profile fights in his career before becoming a world champion. Two ended, literally, before they started. The first came against two-time world title challenger Diosbelys Hurtado in November 1999, and ended in a second-round techical draw.

Another came in his first world title fight against World Boxing Association welterweight champion, Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis in July 2001. It went into the books as a second-round no contest. Making just his second start in the United States, Mayorga stung Lewis with a right hand late in the first round, and Lewis suffered a nasty cust on his left eyelid after an accidental clash of heads in the second round. The bout was halted by the ringside physician after just six seconds into the round.

The inevitable rematch cam in March 2002 amidst rumors of Mayorga "sneaking" cigarettes and drinking after training sessions. Regardless, once Mayorga stepped into the ring, he looked strong, confident and fought with a dogged determination. He went so far as to taunt the champion by dropping his gloves to his sides, jutting out his jaw, and letting Lewis pummel him in the face at will, only to remain standing and fire back barrages of combinations, the last of which sent Lewis to the canvas in round five. Referee, Rudy Battle determined that Lewis was unfit to continue, and Mayorga scored a technical knockout and walked off with his first world title. True to his training style, he arrived at the post-fight press conference smoking a cigarette with a beer in his hand.

Few aficionados of the sport of boxing thought Mayorga could continue his winning ways. It also didn't help that he chose reigning Boxing Writers Association of America 2002 Fighter of Year, Vernon Forrest to be his next opponent. Forrest, like Mayorga, had defied the odds to become the World Boxing Council 147-pound champion by defeating the seemingly invincible "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Forrest defeated Mosley again in an immediate rematch.

"Right now, they recognize Forrest as the best of the welterweights," Mayorga said at the time of their first meeting. "I will prove them wrong."

Mayorga was so relaxed, he ate a slice of pizza when he got on the scales for the official weigh-in to taunt his opponent and prove he had no problem with making weight.

In January 2003, Forrest appeared to be as perplexed as Lewis had been when facing the Nicaraguan as power shots, thrown from unusual angles, rained down on him from the outset. Mayorga shocked the world with a first-round knockdown. He continued to batter Forrest with bombs, and took his best shots, until referee Marty Denkin waved off the beating in just the third round. Mayorga was now the unified welterweight champion, picking up Forrest's WBC crown to go with his WBA title.

Never fearful, Mayorga agreed to an immediate rematch in July 2003 and he was now being taken a bit more seriously. Both the WBC and WBA titles were o the line once again.

As usual, Mayorga came out attacking from the opening bell, building up an early lead. He taunted, talked, made faces, and threw bombs at Forrest, who tried to do his best to stay out of harm's way.

During the middle rounds, Forrest picked up his pace, but Mayorga kept coming and refused to be denied. He even pulled his patented stunt of sticking his chin out for Forrest to hit him with his best shots. Mayorga took the punches ad motioned for Forrest to do it again, and Forrest obliged by nailing Mayorga on the chin again. It didn't faze the champion, and he just charged in for more. As dangerous as Mayorga's ploy was, it seemed to unsettle Forrest.

"I wanted him to know that he couldn't hurt me," May9orga said after the fight. "I know it's not a wise thing to want to get hit, and Mr. King told me after the fight that he doesn't want to see me doing that again, but it's what I wanted to do at the time. I wanted to let him know that I was the boss, I was his daddy, I was the champ."

Mayorga won a majority decision and was recognized as the most exciting new star in boxing with people waiting to see what he might say or do next. Mayorga then attempted to become the undisputed world welterweight champion by facing International Boxing Federation champion, Cory Spinks in December 2003.

Spinks, the slick boxer, was able to avoid much of Mayorga's power and won a very close and controversial majority decision.

In April 2004, Mayorga was to fight WBA welterweight champion, Jose Rivera for the title until Ricardo tipped the scales at 153, six pounds over the limit. He was given an opportunity to lose a few pounds to make a "catch" weight, but Mayorga was unable to go lower. It was time to move to a higher weight class.

A deal was struck to fight junior middleweight, Eric Mitchell, who was already scheduled to appear on the card. Mayorga dominated Mitchell for 10 rounds and won the unanimous decision.

Mayorga moved up to full middleweight to face one of the all-time great boxers in Felix Trinidad in October 2004. Trinidad had been retired for 29 months but decided to return to the ring against the tough Nicaraguan.

The two combatants came out of their corners and threw punches with bad intentions from the outset. In typical Mayorga fashion, Trinidad landed punches in the early rounds that would have vanquished a lesser foe, while Mayorga pounded his chest and stuck his chin out in defiance before stepping in to land some of his own leather.

Mayorga scored a flash knockdown in round three after landing an overhand right that forced Trinidad to touch his right glove on the canvas to keep himself on his feet. Both fighters continued to throw and land fearsome power shots that delighted the fans. Trinidad, always known for his staggering power, was also as accurate with his punches on this night as he had ever been.

Mayorga, who had never been knocked down in his professional career, fought valiantly but endured a flurry of punches from Trinidad in round eight culminating with a left hook to the rib cage that forced Mayorga to the canvas. Mayorga beat the count and bravely rose to his feet, but the barrage continued until he had to take a knee to avoid further punishment.

Mayorga refused to quit and the assault continued until Mayorga was felled for the third time. Referee, Steve Smoger, then stepped in to wave off the action. One boxing writer referred to Trinidad vs Mayorga as the Latin version of Hagler vs Hearns in what was one of the most entertaining fights of the year.

Mayorga's performance made him the No. 1-ranked mandatory challenger to WBC super welterweight champion, Javier Castillejo. Castillejo abdicated in favor of a big-money fight with Fernando Vargas, which he lost.

Mayorga then fought former IBF welterweight champion, Michele Piccirillo for the vacant title. Mayorga only knows how to fight one way, but his new co-trainer, Yoel Judah, was able to teach him a few defensive maneuvers and was able to convince him to no longer pull the machismo stunt of sticking his chin in the air.

Mayorga blasted the former champion to the canvas three times in the first four rounds. Piccirillo ran for survival while Mayorga admonished him and urged him to trade shots. Mayorga's pleas fell on deaf ears, but he easily won a unanimous decision to become a two-division world champion.