Sadam Ali vs Jessie Vargas Preview March 5th
Sadam Ali of Brooklyn, New York and former world champion Jessie Vargas of Las Vegas, Nevada will square off at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, March 5th for the vacant WBO Welterweight Championship. The 12-round bout can be seen live in Canada and the U.S on HBO along with the Tony Thompson vs Luis Ortiz heavyweight tilt. Ali had an excellent amateur career and earned a spot America’s 2008 Olympic boxing team. Ali’s last bout was a 10-round unanimous decision over Francisco Santana last April. Vargas last fought in June and suffered a controversial 12-round unanimous decision at the hands of Timothy Bradley Jr.
Ali vs Vargas Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Jessie Vargas +260
- Sadam Ali -320
My Pick
The 27-year-old Ali enters the ring with a perfect record of 22-0 along with 13 Kos while the 26-year-old Vargas is 26-1 with 9 Kos to his name. Vargas is currently ranked number four by the WBO and Ali is ranked number one. The title became vacant after Bradley was stripped of it and he’ll be facing Manny Pacquiao for the third time on April 9th. Bradley would have kept the crown if he had agreed to face Ali instead. This will be Ali’s first shot at a world title and he aims to take full advantage of it.
Vargas should probably count himself lucky that he’s getting a chance to regain the WBO title after losing it to Bradley last summer. The former champion said he learned a lot in his defeat against Bradley and is highly motivated to regain the title belt. He struggled against Bradley, but then suddenly staggered him in the 12th and final round and appeared to have him out on his feet. However, the referee made a crucial mistake and called the fight off with about seven seconds to go as he thought he heard the final bell.
Vargas won the WBA Junior Welterweight Crown in April of 2014 against Khabib Allakhverdiev and defended it twice against Antonio DeMarco and Anton Novikov before meeting Bradley. Vargas is a talented boxer/puncher with exceptional skills, but lacks big-fight experience and a big punch. He likes to establish his jab to set up short, quick flurries to both the head and body. His other notable opponents have been Steve Forbes, Josesito Lopez, Walter Estrada and Vivian Harris.
Vargas is 5-foot-10 with a wingspan of 71 inches while Ali is 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 73-inch reach. Vargas turned pro in 2008 and has 180 rounds under his belt and Ali has boxed 109 rounds since 2009. Vargas has a low knockout ratio of just 33 per cent while Ali’s currently stands at 59 per cent. Ali fought in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China and he’d prefer to use his boxing skills rather than slug it out. He turned pro a year after the Games, but hasn’t really been tested by a solid opponent as of yet other than Luis Abregu in 2014.
Prediction……
Ali has decent power in his fists, is quick on his feet and likes to throw his effective left hook to keep his opponents honest. He’s up against a solid opponent in Vargas though and this is his big chance to make a name for himself. There’s a good chance the contest will go the distance as neither boxer is really heavy handed even though Vargas had Bradley in trouble. Ali may have some ring rust since he hasn’t fought in close to a year and Vargas will need to get off to a better start than he did against Bradley. I see Vargas putting in a good performance here and leaving the ring with the title, likely by a relatively close decision.
This should be a close fight with both boxers getting some wagering action.
Play: Vargas +260 @ 5dimes.eu
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jessie Vargas betting • Sadam Ali betting