Boxing Challenge; Vargas wins, Rios upsets De La Hoya

I had a little bit of time and was able to watch the two remaining shows from Saturday night and the boxing challenge bouts were both expected and unexpected in their results.

In the main event, Rey Vargas retained his WBC junior featherweight with a unanimous decision over Tomoki Kameda.
Vargas, an effective if not exciting fighter, generally evaded the charges of Kameda, who attempted to be aggressive throughout and stunned Vargas in the final rounds, but also had a point taken away for unsportsmanlike conduct.
I scored Vargas a 116-111 winner (8-4 rounds, with the 12th round being the rare 9-9 round with the point deduction), but he didn't exactly thrill anyone in victory.
Vargas could face WBA/IBF champion Danny Roman in his next fight, which would be an interesting fight that could go either way between two versatile and exciting boxer-punchers.

The co-feature was a surprising standout also from the junior featherweight division as undefeated and lightly tested Diego De La Hoya and veteran Ronny Rios slugged it out for six rounds before Rios stunned the cheering crowd at Carson with a right uppercut that landed with perfect timing to drive the slumping De La Hoya to one knee.
De La Hoya slowly rose and beat the count, but he clearly had conceded the fight and replays show that he may have told the referee that his day was concluded before the stoppage.
De La Hoya might have had the referee stop the fight anyway, but the way the fight ended will make observers consider the desire of De La Hoya in the future.
As for Rios, a fighter that has disappointed in his chances to move up a level after being considered a top prospect, this is a career highlight that should get him further fights along the ladder and might even be considered for a shot at Daniel Roman, if the Roman-Vargas fight is not made next.
Rios was decisioned by Vargas in a previous title attempt, so Roman is the more likely target for Rios, should a title opportunity be offered.

PBC put together two very strong action encounters in their top two fights from Minneapolis on FS1.

Welterweight Jamal James continued his buildup for a future title shot with a unanimous decision win over former lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco.
DeMarco hurt James in the second round, but James managed to weather the storm and won a wide decision (97-93 on my card) in a fight that showcased several exchanges of big punches.
DeMarco will likely receive another fight at a similar level, despite a 2-5 record over the last five years off this effort, while James seems to lack that something that would make him a stern test against the champions of the division.

The co-feature saw Gerald Washington come from behind on the cards to drop Robert Helenius for the count in the eighth round of a limited, yet give and take battle of two heavyweight fringe contenders.
I had Helenius slightly ahead at 67-66 entering the eighth when Washington landed a series of right hands, the final of which drove Helenius across the ring to the mat with a dazed Helenius only able to hook his glove around the bottom rope at the fight's end.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each added four points for this set of fights.
179-161 is the current tally in my favor.