What to Know
- Two New York area fighters will put fans in seats for rhe Zayas vs Boots undercard event Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
- Bryce Mills has long targeted Prospect of the Year Emiliano Vargas. They will meet in the co-main event.
- Star Boxing favorite Richard “Popeye” Rivera will face Ben Whittaker in Whittaker’s U.S. debut.
Before Xander Zayas and Jaron “Boots” Ennis blow the roof off the Barclays Center on Saturday, June 27, the DAZN pay-per-view undercard is serving up two classic ‘prospect vs. test’ matchups.
Matchroom and Top Rank are putting their rising stars in the ring with gritty, battle-tested veterans. The question for Brooklyn is simple: Do the hype trains keep rolling, or do the veterans derail the party?
Young Lion vs. Upstate Grinder: Emiliano Vargas vs. Bryce Mills
The Setup: This is the final hurdle before the deep waters. Super lightweight Emiliano “El General” Vargas of Las Vegas (17-0, 14 KOs) is 22 years old and looking to prove he’s more than just Fernando Vargas’s son. He’s stepping into Brooklyn with the hype machine fully cranked up, already looking past Saturday night and demanding a world title eliminator. He’s fast, he hits with bad intentions, and the oddsmakers have him as a massive favorite.
But don’t sleep on the kid from upstate New York. Bryce Mills (22-1, 9 KOs) has been begging for this fight, calling Vargas out to get his name on the marquee.
Mills doesn’t have Vargas’s devastating one-punch power, but he’s a tough, durable grinder who knows this is his golden ticket. The lights will not be too bright for Mills. He has been the anchor of several shows at the Turning Stone Casino.
The Verdict: Vargas is the heavy favorite for a reason. He’s got the pedigree and the pop. But if Mills can weather the early storm, drag Vargas into the late rounds, and turn this from a clean boxing match into a street fight, things could get very interesting. Vargas needs to stay focused on the man in front of him, not the belts down the road.
The Showman vs. The Sailor: Ben Whittaker vs. Richard “Popeye” Rivera
The Setup: This fight could steal the whole show. We have a British phenom making his American debut against a rugged, veteran spoiler who walks to the ring looking like a cartoon character but hits like a freight train.
Ben “The Surgeon” Whittaker of England (11-0-1, 8 KOs) is the 29-year-old Olympic silver medalist, and he’s bringing his trademark flash across the pond. Whittaker is all slick movement, dropping his hands, taunting, and throwing lightning-fast combinations.
Matchroom Boxing thinks he is its next transatlantic superstar, and a spectacular win in Brooklyn is supposed to be his coming-out party in the States.
Waiting for him is Star Boxing’s Richard “Popeye The Sailor Man” Rivera (27-2, 20 KOs). While his stablemates will be battling 45 miles east in Huntington, New York, the 35-year old Hartford, Connecticut native is bringing the absolute wildest energy to the Barclays Center.
Rivera walks to the ring wearing a sailor’s cap with a traditional corn cob pipe dangling from his mouth. (When he doesn’t dress like Gene Simmons of Kiss, of course.) But once the bell rings, the pipe comes out, and he throws absolute bombs.
Rivera is insulted by the British hype for their prospect. He’s been tearing into Whittaker in the press, calling his flashy antics a ‘mask to hide his real fear’ and a disguise for a lack of fundamentals.
Rivera has been in camp with former champs like Demetrius Andrade and is treating this fight like a turf war, waving the American and Puerto Rican flags and demanding the Brooklyn crowd back him against the invader.
The Verdict: Whittaker has the speed, the amateur pedigree, and the flash. But Rivera has the experience, the power, and absolutely zero respect for Whittaker’s showboating.
If Whittaker gets too cute and leaves his chin hanging out in front of the veteran, Popeye is going to feed him a can of spinach he won’t wake up from. Whittaker needs to stay sharp and use his boxing IQ. Rivera needs to turn it into an ugly dogfight and prove the flash is just an act.
Brooklyn crowds don’t tolerate a circus. If Whittaker dances instead of fighting, the arena will let him hear it.
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A lifelong resident of Long Island, New York, Matthew Pomara, MMP, has always followed the sweet science. He caught the tail end of the Ali era, was a staunch follower of the Four Kings of the 80’s, loved the great expansion of the sport in the 90’s and has stayed with boxing through the 2000s. He has been published in The Ring Magazine and loves contributing to @NYFights. He can be found on Twitter @pomara_matt