Jermaine Franklin has been back in action following a couple of valiant losses to Brits in the last couple of years.
American heavyweight Franklin is best known for coming over to the UK and giving Dillian Whyte a tough night, eventually losing on points over 12 rounds.
Back in April last year, he was then shipped in as the first comeback opponent for Anthony Joshua after he lost back to back fights with Oleksandr Usyk and gave up his three world titles.
Franklin boxed well and was one of few men to ever last the distance with Joshua, but again took a points loss after 12 completed rounds.
Ahead of the fight, Franklin came in at 254 pounds, much bigger than he was against Joshua when he was just 234 pounds.
The 30-year-old fringe contender has promised a knockout in the build up to this fight at Wayne State Fieldhouse, and he did come out strong early on as the younger man.
He managed to land big on Vargas with a right hand in the first round but Vargas recovered well. A similar thing happened in round two when Vargas was hurt by a slick combination but again he managed to get through.
By the time the fourth round came, an uppercut sent Vargas to the canvas but again he recovered and beat the count only to be stopped two rounds later after a right hand to the body and a swift left-right combination sent him to the canvas once more. Although he valiantly rose to his feet, his corner had seen enough and the fight was waved off between rounds.
Franklin said afterwards in comments shared by Boxing Scene that he wasn’t at his best.
“I felt like I made the fight harder than it needed to be. I’m not going to lie: Once I landed the first power punch, I just got happy. I couldn’t calm down. I got outside of my game plan.
“I got a little bit off my diet, so I got a little fat. [I hope to] fight three or four times a year if I can.”
Franklin’s promoter, Dmitry Salita, revealed that he would like his man to take on Joseph Parker, or else keep active.
“If we don’t get a big fight, we’re going to keep him busy on Big Time Boxing USA.”
This win keeps Franklin in the picture and with Parker not yet lined up to fight anyone, that contest could be a possibility later in the year.
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