Undefeated junior-welterweight prospect Emiliano Vargas spoke about the experience of performing opposite Xander Zayas during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show and made his feelings known about his online beef with WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.
Vargas, 17-0 (14 KOs), is scheduled to face Bryce Mills, 22-1 (9 KOs), in the co-featured bout of the Xander Zayas-Jaron Ennis superfight on Saturday, June 27, on DAZN pay-per-view from the Barclays Center in New York City.
Multiple regional titles will be on the line for Vargas-Mills, as WBO No. 2-, IBF No. 13-, WBA No. 12-, and WBC No. 14-ranked Vargas defends his WBC USA Silver, WBO Latino, and NABF Jr. titles, while Mills is putting his WBC USA Silver crown on the line.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, 22-year-old Vargas, who was named The Ring magazine’s Prospect of the Year in 2025, says he’s excited to return to New York City and all the favorable attention he has received in the past.
“I’m super excited, there’s something about the energy and the fans, you know? I’m a West Coast fighter, but I feel like I’ve been fighting a lot on the East Coast, so I got a lot of love for the East Coast. I’m just excited to be back on such a big card.”
Vargas, who hails from the famous Vargas fighting family, his father being all-time-great Fernando Vargas Snr, views the fight with Liverpool, New York’s heavy-handed Mills as a steppingstone toward a world title shot.
“I train the same for Bryce Mills as I would each and every one of those champions. That’s just the mentality that rubs off from my father. I feel the intensity of that mindset. I’ve only learned how to be a winner because of him… Bryce Mills is in my way, so, I got to crush him.”
Vargas says he’s happy to be sharing a bill with Xander Zayas, with whom he also shared the stage during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show, viewed by 128.2 million US viewers and 4.157 billion globally.
“I’m really happy for him (Zayas), you know? And I just can’t wait to see him perform… We were already friends from the same amateur circuit… but we really got close there. That whole process was super crazy. I was getting ready for my fight in March, so they moved my whole training camp to San Francisco, and I was able to do the rehearsals and everything there. For a whole week beforehand, I was sparring 12 rounds with three different guys and then going to the rehearsals for the Super Bowl.
“I got to meet really cool people… (I met) Bad Bunny, and then when I came back to the trailers, Jay-Z, dabbed me up and said ‘hey, good job.’”
Surprisingly, Vargas, who has participated in a sometimes-nasty ongoing feud with WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia, says that despite their history, he bears Garcia no ill will.
“It wasn’t just one remark… He’s been hating. I mean, little jabs here and there,” he explains, “but I got nothing but love for him and his family. It’s the fight game. You talk about me. I’ll talk about you. That’s as simple as it is. His mom’s cool. We’re going to talk about each other. But as far as animosity is concerned, I don’t feel like I have animosity towards anybody. It’s just business.
“We started talking about each other once my brother fought his brother, and since then, it’s kind of been little jabs here and there.”
So, would Vargas like to eventually face Garcia in a high-profile showdown?
“I would love to,” said Vargas. “Obviously he’s a great champion… I want to be in the biggest fights possible… And when I do step up to fight Ryan, I know it will be on the biggest stage and for the biggest bag.”