Pacquiao vs. Vargas: PPV Start Time, Date, Tickets and Fight Card Schedule
After riding off into the sunset victorious, Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2) turned the horse right back around and is set to enter the ring again Saturday for a WBO welterweight title bout against Jessie Vargas (27-1).
Saturday's pay-per-view card is one of the year's best from top to bottom. It starts at 9 p.m. ET at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, with tickets available at ScoreBig.com.
Here is a full look at the card:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Zou Shiming vs. Prasitsak Papoem | Flyweight |
| Nonito Donaire vs. Jessie Magdaleno | Junior Featherweight |
| Oscar Valdez vs. Hiroshige Osawa | Featherweight |
| Jessie Vargas vs. Manny Pacquiao | Welterweight |
Promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank have pulled out all of the stops with four title fights.
The co-main event between Nonito Donaire and Jessie Magdaleno should have some nice action. Despite being an unknown, Magdaleno has plenty of stopping power and is capable of pulling off an upset.
Perhaps the Oscar Valdez-Hiroshige Osawa dance will be the most interesting. It's nice to see Valdez get some exposure, though his first title defense will come against a man who has won his last 16 bouts and knocked out eight adversaries in a row.
No matter what, the real draw is the main event.
Pacquiao last scored a win against Timothy Bradley Jr. in April to help wipe his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. from fans' minds.
It was an impressive bout, with Pacquiao outpointing Bradley while knocking him down twice. Still, he went on to politics (he was elected to the Philippines Senate in May) and now finds himself in an awkward position as a challenger.
Pacquiao also happens to be 37 years old, and it would be foolish to suggest he hasn't lost a step.
Pacquiao has warned observers not to underestimate him, though.
"A lot of fighters have said for many years that when they watch my style on TV—even from ringside—that it looks easy to handle," he told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. "When you step into the ring with me, you’re surprised by the speed, my power, being heavy-handed. A heavy-handed boxer is different than a strong boxer."
None of this will intimidate Vargas. The man making his first title defense has impressed as of late, scoring a technical knockout against Sadam Ali to secure the strap and catapult his name to the top of the boxing realm.
For a 27-year-old fighter like Vargas, the best bet is learning from others who have stepped into the ring with Pacquiao. An aggressive fighter, Vargas will look to follow in the footsteps of Juan Manuel Marquez, who was bold enough to step into exchanges with Pacquiao and score critical hits before knocking him out.
Vargas doesn't plan to do anything but advance Saturday.
"We will overwork, overhit, overwhelm Manny," trainer Dewey Cooper said, according to Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN News. "We will hear, 'And still the welterweight champion of the world.'"
Pacquiao's speed and power sometimes catch fighters off guard, though it's doubtful Vargas will suffer the same fate as he looks to gun his way toward what might be an early finish.
Then again, that makes two guys looking to do the same thing. Both fighters will want to wrap the bout up early and leave nothing to chance.
Legacy might hang in the balance Saturday. Pacquiao wants to prove he still has it after realizing his fire for the sport hasn't died. But a loss would be a terrible blow to his legacy—a failed comeback bid of the worst degree. Any chatter about a rematch with Mayweather would go out the window.
Speaking of legacy, what better way for Vargas to arrive than with a passing-of-the-torch moment against Pacquiao?
Only one of the scenarios will unfold in what might wind up as one of the top bouts of the year Saturday. It's only fitting that the encounter will headline one of the best overall cards.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
