Unbeaten Vargas to defend crown on Cotto-Kamegai card

Unbeaten Rey Vargas will defend his WBC super bantamweight title against Ronny Rios on the undercard of a title bout between Miguel Cotto and Japan's Yoshihiro Kamegai, promoters announced Wednesday. In the August 26 bout at suburban Los Angeles, Mexico's Vargas, 29-0 with 22 knockouts, will make the first defense of the crown he won from Britain's Gavin McDonnell by majority decision in February at Hull, England. US contender Rios, 28-1 with 13 knockouts, has won his past five fights since suffering his lone loss to Mexico's Robinson Castellanos in 2014. The main event sends Puerto Rico's Cotto, 40-5 with 33 knockouts, in quest of a sixth world title when he fights Kamegai, 27-3 with two drawn and 24 knockouts, for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title. "I'm thrilled to defend my world championship for the first time on such a special night," Vargas said. "I know Ronny Rios is an extremely tough challenger, but he has never tasted power like mine, and I'm confident I'll come away with the victory." It's the first world title bout for Rios. "This is a dream come true for any boxer," he said. "I've been working my whole life for this opportunity. Now that it's here, I'm ready to capitalize. "I expect a tough, tough war from Rey."