Rey Vargas Has New Main Goal: Leo Santa Cruz

Rey Vargas is already onto the next.

Vargas said he’s now looking to face fellow Mexican boxer Leo Santa Cruz.

“I want to unify titles,” Vargas said.

“That’s the main goal. And the real winners of that fight will be the fans because our styles mesh perfectly. It would be kind of a fight between warriors. We’re both Mexican warriors and it’s a perfect fight to see blood and to see some really hard hits going on there.”

Vargas rallied back from a ninth-round knockdown to defeat Mark Magsayo by split decision in their 12-round Showtime main event in Texas.

The taller Vargas was able to outland Philippines’ Magsayo 196 to 132, according to CompuBox.

The fast-paced bout ended in the fate of the judges’ scorecards, which went 115-112 twice to Vargas and 114-113 once for Magsayo.

Santa Cruz has not fought at featherweight in almost three and half years, but the WBA still recognizes the 33-year-old as its “super” champion.

England’s Leigh Wood is also considered the WBA’s secondary featherweight champion. Josh Warrington, meanwhile, holds the IBF title for the 126-pound division.

Vargas previously reigned as the WBC super-bantamweight champion from February 2017 to August 2020.

“Good fights abound, that’s for sure,” Vargas said.

“The first step was to win this world title. Now it’s a whole new world out there. But I insist the fight that I want to unify is against Leo Santa Cruz. But, of course, we would consider any and all options [moving] forward.”