Jermaine Franklin is re-entering the mix in the heavyweight division.

Franklin dropped Devin Vargas twice en route to a knockout win after round six Thursday night at Wayne State FieldHouse in Detroit, Michigan.

From the opening bell, Franklin initiated exchanges, connecting on a hook or cross to the head of Vargas. Undaunted, Vargas did find success in the pocket, utilizing angles or attempting to side-step to find an opening and counter Franklin. Vargas did his best work during the second half of round three, pinning Franklin against the ropes and landing punches and combinations to the head and body.

About a minute left in round four, a right hand to the head followed by a combination dropped Vargas to the canvas. Vargas was able to beat the count, fighting back and connecting with an array of punches to the head and body.

Both fighters landed their share of punches in round five, although Vargas began to noticeably tire and was absorbing plenty of punches that bruised his face.

Midway during round six, Vargas was pinned against the ropes, and almost went down from a right to the body. Towards the end of the round, a left-right combination staggered Vargas against the ropes. Another two-punch combination would drop Vargas to the canvas. Vargas beat the count, and the bell immediately sounded, saving him from receiving further punishment. Vargas’ corner told referee Ansel Stewart to stop the fight.

Franklin, who resides in nearby Saginaw, improved to 23-2, 15 knockouts.

The 30-year-old admitted after the fight he could have fought better against Vargas and will analyze the fight to correct mistakes.

Jermaine Franklin put on a show 😤⚔️#FranklinVargas
@salita_promotions pic.twitter.com/DXW2N6V7Hr

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 24, 2024

“It was a great fight for me,” said Franklin. “I feel like I made the fight harder than it needed to be. I was overly aggressive, trying hard to land too many power shots. I needed to work on staying calm. Coach had me more on a game plan of throwing more combinations. I’m not going to lie, once I landed the first power punch, I got happy. I know there were some moments where he would get off. I got off my game plan.”

Franklin was fighting for the first time since July 15, when he defeated Isaac Muñoz Gutierrez by decision. The win in July came after back-to-back defeats to former unified world titleholder Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. Franklin hopes to return to the ring soon.

“I want to stay as busy as possible,” said Franklin. “I’m not one of those heavyweights that wants to fight once or twice a year. I’d like to fight three or four times a year, if I could. Hopefully, I could keep the ball rolling and stay busy, keep getting great fights so I could make a title run.

“Hopefully, we can get them all. I’m not ducking anyone.”

Vargas, who resides in Toledo, Ohio, falls to 22-11, 9 KOs. The 2004 U.S. Olympian has now lost his last five bouts and seven of his last nine.

In the co-main event, and a clash between two junior welterweight prospects, Joshua Pagan defeated Roger Hilley by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 78-74 for Pagan, who improved to 10-0, 4 KOs.

The southpaw Hilley was the aggressor against the taller Pagan from the opening bell, getting through the guard of Pagan to connect with several punches and combinations. During an exchange, Pagan suffered a cut above his left eye. Replays were inconclusive is a punch or an accidental clash of heads open the cut on Pagan.

As the bout progressed, Pagan utilized his reach to fight effectively from distance. Pagan threw and landed combinations, moving in and out of Hilley’s range throughout the rest of the fight.

“It’s all about experience,” said Pagan. “I’ve been cut in sparring before and (also) in a fight. I just knew I had to stay calm and stick to the game plan. And that’s what I did tonight.

“I give (Hilley) credit. He’s a great competitor. Toughest opponent I’ve fought, by far. He got me a couple of times. I just had to keep moving and boxing. He has a future in the sport.”

Hilley, who resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee, falls to 13-1, 8 KOs.

Fringe super middleweight contender Ali Akhmedov dropped Encarnacion Diaz of Costa Rica twice en route to a second round knockout victory. Akhmedov, who is originally from Kazakhstan and now resides in Venice, California, improved to 21-1, 16 KOs.

Akhmedov hurt Diaz with a left hook to the body early in round two. Moments later, a left hook to the head dropped Diaz to the canvas. Diaz beat the count, but continued to absorb vicious and hard combinations to the head and body. A right cross to the head dropped Diaz again to the canvas. Diaz remained on one knee, as referee Ben Rodriguez waved the fight off at 2:13.

The 28-year-old has non won his last five bouts since a knockout loss to Carlos Gongora in December 2020, a fight Akhmedov was well ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

In a clash of middleweights who reside in Detroit, Josiah Shackleford improved to 3-1, 2 KOs, defeating Ja’Shar Banks by decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Shackleford. Banks was making his pro debut.

All four fights streamed live on DAZN on a Big Time Boxing USA card, which was promoted by Dmitriy Salita.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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