Cruz-Vargas reportedly set for June 19 on Showtime

Cruz is behind George Kambosos Jr. in line for a shot at Teofimo Lopez’s IBF belt

Showtime’s June 19th Jermall Charlo vs. Juan Macias Montiel card already had one solid undercard bout to make up for the awful main event, and now it looks like it’s got at least two. ESPN’s reliable Fernando Barbosa reports that IBF #2 lightweight contender Isaac Cruz will take on former super featherweight champ Francisco “Bandido” Vargas.

BoxRec also lists an interesting super bantamweight clash between former champ Angelo Leo and recent title challenger Aaron Alameda, two-time Olympic quarterfinalist Gabriel Maestre against 19-0 Cody Crowley in the former’s fourth pro fight, and Kudratillo Abdukakhorov against Argentina’s Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo. though I’ve been unable to find confirmation of these bouts.

Cruz (21-1-1, 15 KO) needed just 53 seconds to crush Diego Magdaleno in October, setting up a clash with standout Spaniard Jon Fernandez. When visa issues scrapped that, he faced unbeaten Matias Romero, settling for a competitive unanimous decision this past March. He’s technically next in line for Teofimo Lopez after George Kambosos Jr., but considering how many mandatory challengers are involved, it’ll be a while before he gets his shot.

Vargas’ (27-2-2, 19 KO) triumphant knockout of Takashi Miura and hellacious draw with Orlando Salido established him as one of the sport’s most entertaining action fighters, only for two destructive losses to Miguel Berchelt to knock him from his perch. He’s since scored a pair of get-well victories at lightweight in his native Mexico.

It’s unclear whether Vargas has anything left in the tank, but this should be incredibly fun while it lasts.