Assuming it's the prime Curry at 154, say the one who dismantled Pablo Baez. Versus Vargas. Who wins?
If it’s the same peak Curry that beat Starling, Jones, McCrory but are 154 then I can see him stopping Vargas. Prime Curry was a class above Vargas.
Vargas. Good fight but I just do not like the Curry legs at 154. Before the Honeyghan bout, he may have had the best balance in the sport. But it went downhill real quick. Vargas is no pushover and not the type to just show up for a payday. Hr hangs tough early and takes over the second half of the bout. I think the ref waves it off somewhere around the 9-11th round with Curry fading just like the Norris fight late. Speaking of Curry, I just rewatched that bout with Linton. Curry was destroyed. That balance was even worse---to the degree where Donald fell down after throwing a punch. I did not think that was possible for Curry. he took a bad licking in the bout and like lots of guys---does not do so well when he is the old reflexes guy fighting the youthful reflexes.
We're talking about pre-Honeyghan Curry. I said the Curry who destroyed Pablo Baez, which was at 154 and right before he destroyed McCrory. Personally I favor Don big time. Vargas was a sucker for two things... speed and left hooks. Basically, the two main strengths of prime Curry.
I have Curry in this one. Look how much Oscar's speed troubled Vargas in their fight. Same with Mosley although Vargas was definitely past his best against Mosley. Curry was such a good offensive fighter and threw deadly fast combinations. I don't think Vargas was ever really that good defensively. Even in his best performances (Wright, Quartey) he ate a ton of shots.
154 was never a good weight for Curry, despite spotty success there. Really, beginning with the Starling rematch he seemed to come into his own in understanding his own physical strength at 147 and was adept on the inside and actually imposing himself a bit. Even Colin Jones was on the receiving end of this. At 154, he no longer had that and I'm not convinced it had anything to do with Honeyghan. He didn't overwhelm the limited Baez the way he did his welterweight challengers, and the Green bout was inconclusive. Like Gomez moving up to featherweight, that one seemingly innocuous move just a handful of pounds north seemed too much for him.
Vargas by 8th round kayo. 154 was not Donald's best weight, and like against Mike McCallum, he's doing will until Fernando catches him.
