Rey Vargas vs Franklin Manzanilla Preview Feb. 9th
Undefeated WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Rey Vargas of Mexico will take on Franklin Manzanilla of Venezuela in Indio, California this Saturday Feb. 9th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on DAZN. Vargas last fought in May of last year when he beat Azat Hovhannisyan by a unanimous decision. Manzanilla’s last outing was also in May when he stopped Julio Ceja after four rounds for the WBC Silver Super Bantamweight Title. Vargas won the vacant title in February, 2017 via majority decision over Gavin McDonnell.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Vargas vs Manzanilla Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Franklin Manzanilla +584
- Rey Vargas -784
My Pick
The 28-year-old Vargas of Mexico City will climb into the ring with a perfect record of 32-0 along with 22 Kos and will be defending his title for the fourth time. Vargas has also beaten former two-time world titleholder Alexander Munoz as well as former world title challengers Juanito Rubillar and Cecilio Santos, so he has good big-fight experience. He also owns wins over Ronny Rios, Luis Lugo, Marcos Cardenas, Eduardo Mancito and Alexis Kabore.
Vargas stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall and has a reach of 70.5 inches. He’s fought 176 rounds since turning pro in 2010 and has quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio of 69 per cent. However, he’s gone the distance in his last four outings and five of the last six. He’s a solid pro with a good chin and skills, but hasn’t been particularly impressive in the past few bouts. Vargas enjoyed a fine amateur career and has won the IBF Youth, WBC Youth Intercontinental, and WBC Youth Silver Super Bantamweight Titles since turning pro.
Manzanilla is a 30-year-old who hails from Caracas. He enters the bout with a record of 18-7 with 17 big wins by KO. He turned pro back in 2010 and has fought 75 rounds since then. There’s not much info available on Manzanilla and this includes his height and reach. His four losses have been against Belmar Preciado by eight-round split decision in 2017, by a nine-round split decision to Jose Sanmartin in 2014, by fourth-round stoppage to Jorge Sanchez in 2012 and by a four-round unanimous decision to Nelson Guillen in 2011.
Manzanilla has fought mainly in Central America and this will be his first bout in the USA. He’s got a pair of heavy fists on him with a current knockout ratio of 77 per cent. However, his level of opposition is pretty questionable as he fought Francisco Herrera last year and stopped him in the third round. I should mention Herrera entered the fight with a record of 1-46-2. You just never know how far Manzanilla’s power will take him though and how good he is since there are know recognizable opponents on his record.
Prediction…
I’m not sure how Manzanilla got a title shot as most people have never heard of him. Vargas has the edge in experience, but arguably not in power here. This could be a tough, close fight and it also could be a mismatch. Either way, I’ll go with Vargas’ experience here, but he needs to make sure he can handle his opponent’s power shots.
Vargas’ experience will be a factor.
Play: Vargas -784 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Franklin Manzanilla betting • Rey Vargas betting