McDonnell vs Vargas

Who won McDonnell vs Vargas?

Rey Vargas beat Gavin McDonnell by majority decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday, February 25th, 2017, at Ice Arena, Hull.

The scorecards were announced as 114-114, 117-111, 116-112 in favor of winner Rey Vargas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 122 pounds (8.7 stone or 55.3 kg).

This contest was for the WBC super bantamweight championship of the world.

McDonnell vs Vargas stats

Back in February 2017, Rey Vargas stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 28 wins, zero losses, and 0  draws, 22 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Gavin McDonnell made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 16 wins and 2 draws, with 4 of those by knockout.

The stats suggested Vargas had a massive power advantage over McDonnell, boasting a 79% knockout percentage compared to McDonnell's 25%.

Rey Vargas was the younger man by 4 years, at 27 years old.

McDonnell had a height advantage of 2 inches over Vargas.

Both Rey Vargas and Gavin McDonnell fought out of an orthodox stance.

Vargas was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 10 more fights, and made his debut in 2010, 7 months earlier than McDonnell, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 246 more professional rounds, totaling 246 compared to McDonnell's 0.

Rey Vargas went into the fight ranked number 2 by the WBC at super bantamweight.

Gavin McDonnell was ranked number 1 by the WBC in the 122lb division.

McDonnell vs Vargas form

Vargas had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Alexis Boureima Kabore on June 11, 2016, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico.

Prior to that, he had won against Christian Esquivel on February 27, 2016, by technical knockout in the 3rd round at Honda Center, Anaheim, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Lucian Gonzalez on September 5, 2015, by unanimous decision in their 8 round contest at Centro de Espectáculos del Recinto Ferial, Metepec, Mexico.

Before that, he had defeated Edward Mansito on May 23, 2015, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Centro de Espectáculos del Recinto Ferial, Metepec.

He had won against Nestor Hugo Paniagua on January 24, 2015, by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Centro de Convenciones Azul, Ixtapa Zihuatanejo.

Gavin McDonnell had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Jorge Sanchez on February 27, 2016, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Manchester Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had defeated Jeremy Parodi on October 24, 2015, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Sheffield Arena, Sheffield.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Oleksandr Yegorov on March 28, 2015, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Sheffield Arena, Sheffield.

Before that, he had won against Vusi Malinga on October 25, 2014, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Hull Arena, Hull.

He had drawn with Josh Wale on May 21, 2014, by split draw in their 12 round contest in their BBBOC British Super Bantamweight championship fight at First Direct Arena, Leeds, United States.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Rey Vargas had been fighting more than Gavin McDonnell.

Going into this contest, Rey Vargas had last fought 8 months and 14 days ago, while Gavin McDonnell's last outing had been 11 months and 29 days ago.

Vargas' last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 1 month and 1 day, which means he had been fighting approximately every 5 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 35 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7 rounds on average.

McDonnell's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 21 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 60 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 12 rounds on average.

What time did McDonnell vs Vargas start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM GMT at Ice Arena, Hull, United Kingdom, which was 5:00 PM EST or 2:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America.

What were the odds on McDonnell vs Vargas?

Rey Vargas was a 2/5 (-250) favorite going into the contest, while Gavin McDonnell made his way into the ring at 19/10 (+190) with oddsmakers.