Colombian welterweight prospect Samuel Vargas, who is based in Greater Toronto, is known for his relentless, pressuring attack, which has made him a fan favorite as well as fighting at nearby Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

The soft-spoken, hard-training Vargas made his debut in February of 2010, stopping Todd Furler in the second round of their fight in Montreal. Samuel cruised past five more opponents and had his first scheduled eight-round bout October 22, 2010.

His opponent was Mexican veteran Jhonny Navarrette (16-4-1), who traveled to New Brunswick to face Vargas. Vargas out-boxed his more experienced opponent to win a close, unanimous decision (78-76, 78-76, 77-76).

A showdown against hometown rival "Mighty" Tebor Brosch followed this past February for the vacant NABA Canada welterweight title. Brosch held the Canada Professional Boxing Council welterweight crown and had previously been the Quebec Boxing Council 147-pound title-holder.

Vargas and Brosch put on a show and finished with a 10-round majority draw (96-94, 95-95, 95-95). Vargas suffered an injury that kept him out of the ring until October 22, 2011 but the long wait was well worth it.

Fighting before a packed Hershey Centre on the Logon Cotton McGuinness-Benoit Gaudet card in the10-round co-feature, Vargas and bitter provincial rival Ahmad Cheikho, of Montreal, fought in an all-out war that lived up to its pre-fight expectations.

In a toe-to-toe, old-fashioned brawl, Vargas and Cheikho went at it from the start. A well placed shot to the liver by Vargas dropped Cheikho in the first round, but Ahmad caught Vargas in the second round, knocking him to the mat face first for the first time in his career. A bloodied Vargas survived the round and a little later, momentum shifted to his favor. In the fourth, Vargas pinned Cheikho on the ropes, blasting away with left hooks to the body, until Ahmad hit the deck once again. Vargas' all-out assault continued in the fifth round, in which Cheikho was knocked down during the final seconds. He managed to beat the count but failed to answer the bell for the sixth.

"The Sam Vargas-Ahmad Cheikho match is a fight of the year candidate," claimed International Boxing Hall of Fame nominee Al Bernstein, who called the action live from ringside. "It was a total slugfest and Vargas came back from the brink of disaster to win."