After scoring impressive knockout wins early on in his pro career, Emiliano Vargas understands the opposition will get tougher and more challenging.

Which means he must continue being at his very best. 

Vargas will face gatekeeper Larry Fryers tonight at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The eight-round bout will open the three-bout Top Rank on ESPN telecast (10:30 p.m. ET/ 7:30 p.m. PT).

The 20-year-old Vargas (11-0, 9 knockouts), who resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be facing his toughest test to date in Fryers, who has faced prospects and unbeaten fighters. While Vargas is the favorite going into the fight, he is not overlooking Fryers and expects a tough fight from the Ireland-born fighter.

“I know Larry Fryers is coming to fight,” said Vargas at Wednesday’s press conference. “He’s a fighter. He’s fighting for his dreams, as well, the same way I am. Come Friday, I’m going to put on a show. I’ve had some of my best performances here in Glendale, Arizona. I’m looking to continue to do the same thing and show the world that ‘El General’ is here to stay.

“Every fighter brings out a different side of me. He’s a hard-hitting fighter. He comes forward. He’s strong. He’s an Irish fighter. They come forward like Mexicans. So, he’s going to give his all, I’m going to give my all, and it’s going to be a great fight show for all the beautiful fans.”

In his last fight on June 29, Vargas stopped Jose Zaragoza in the opening round. Six weeks prior to the knockout win over Zaragoza, Vargas battered Angel Varela Urena before scoring a knockout win in round six.

Vargas last fought in Glendale on March 29, defeating Nelson Hampton by unanimous decision.

Much has been publicized about Vargas and his two older brothers, Fernando, Jr. and Amado, both of whom are also unbeaten. All three are trained by former two-time world junior middleweight champion Fernando Vargas, who never pushed his sons to pursue prizefighting.

All three sons have acknowledged the discipline the sport requires and want to create their own path in the sport. For Vargas, he knows shortcuts does not equal success, which motivates him to be the best fighter he could be.

“This is the beautiful thing about boxing,” said Vargas. “It doesn’t lie. When you step into the ring, at the end of the day, it’s going to show if you did your miles, if you did your sparring. Everything shows at the end of the day. I may look like a pretty face, but at the end of the day, I’m a fighter.”

Fryers (13-6-1, 5 KOs), who now resides in Albany, New York, has not fought since June 17 of last year, defeating once-beaten prospect Dimash Niyazov by technical decision.

The 34-year-old has won his last two fights since a unanimous decision loss to Bryce Mills in October 2022.

In the main event of the Top Rank card, Jaime Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico will square off against Canada’s Erik Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) in a 12-round bout. Both super middleweight contenders are rated in the top 10 by The Ring. Munguia and Bazinyan are rated No. 2 and No. 7, respectively.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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