Mayweather vs. Cotto Results: Jessie Vargas Earns Fight with Alfonso Gomez

If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

At least, that was the case with Jessie Vargas, who put himself in position to square off with Alfonso Gomez with a win by unanimous decision over Steve Forbes on Saturday night.

No, not the rich dude with the magazine for high rollers. I'm talking about the boxer from Portland, Oregon, who put up a good fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena despite such short notice.

After all, it was Becerra, not Forbes, who was originally slated to take on The New Generation during one of the undercard bouts prior to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s joust with Miguel Cotto. The 31-year-old Gomez started suffering from back spasms during training just a few weeks prior to the scheduled fight, forcing him to bow out and let Forbes take his place.

But as solid a grade as Forbes gets for effort, he was no match for Vargas. The 22-year-old Angeleno built up a large enough lead on the judges' scorecards that he was able to essentially coast through the final two rounds, needing only to avoid knockout to secure victory.

Whether Gomez would fare any better against Vargas is another story. Becerra couldn't even survive six rounds in last fight, against Saul Alvarez back in September of 2011.

Then again, he's not the first fighter to struggle against Canelo, the undefeated 21-year-old who's expected to be next in line to match wits with Mayweather.

Vargas has a ways to go before he can measure up even to a budding superstar like Canelo, though a win over a former contender of Gomez's caliber should go a long way toward thrusting Vargas into the picture at (or near) the top of the welterweight division.

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