Miguel Berchelt Dominates, Stops Francisco Vargas in 11 to Win Super Featherweight Title

.@AlacranBerchelt, brutally punishing @elbandido130, fight stopped in Round 11 #VargasBerchelt pic.twitter.com/LOaItEDPJW

— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) January 29, 2017

It looks like Francisco Vargas amazing run has come to an end -- for now -- as the Mexican slugger was dethroned Saturday night at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. Miguel Berchelt dominated “El Bandido” throughout their HBO Championship Boxing main event and wound up stopping the champ in the 11th.

Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) ripped dozens of thudding punches to Vargas’ head and body from start to finish. While Vargas, who was a participant in boxing’s Fight of the Year in both 2015 and ’16, had his moments and tried to turn the tides every chance he got, he was a step behind the challenger in virtually every area of the battle and wound up getting battered badly in the battle.

Vargas (23-1-2, 17 KOs) was rocked several times in the contest and suffered nasty lacerations on his face, though the tougher-than-nails warrior never stopped coming forward. Berchelt had no choice but to continue slugging away at the defending champ and turned up the heat in the championship rounds. Finally, after getting staggered again, a bloodied and beaten Vargas had to be rescued by the referee, officially ending the mugging at the 2:19 mark of the 11th to capture the WBC super featherweight crown.

After a few rounds of feeling each other out, Takashi Miura and Mickey Roman electrified the raucous crowd with a thrilling co-feature slugfest that nearly went the distance. Roman, who had won 12 consecutive bouts coming into tonight, seized control of the middle rounds and appeared to be slowly breaking the Japanese fighter down with harder, cleaner punches.

However, Miura dug deep and found a second win and delivered a crushing left hook to the body just before the 10th round ended. The blow knocked Roman (56-12, 43 KOs) off his feet but he was able to get back up and survive the round. Miura, sensing blood, slammed his foot on the gas pedal and unloaded a volley of punches onto the Mexican, forcing Roman to take a knee in the 11th.

Miura (31-3-2, 24 KOs) continued his hellish assault in the final frame and ended everything with a missile of a left to the jaw, a shot that dropped Roman for good. Roman was counted out 53 seconds into the 12th, allowing Miura to be the next in line to challenge Berchelt for his newly-won title.