ROTTERDAM (DA) — Curaçao’s Jursly “The Gorilla” Vargas knocked out Aruba’s Israel Nunes de Souza in the second round Saturday, extending his unbeaten record to 10-0 in his first professional fight in Rotterdam.
Vargas recorded his ninth knockout victory and handed Nunes de Souza his first professional defeat in a lightweight contest scheduled for eight rounds at Topsportcentrum Rotterdam. Nunes de Souza fell to 7-1 after entering with six knockouts.
Signed to Mayweather Promotions, Vargas fights for Floyd Mayweather’s company and trains at Mayweather’s gym in Las Vegas.
The matchup was promoted as a “Battle of the Islands” and featured on the Battle of the Benelux II portion of Boxing Gladiators III.
For Vargas, the appearance marked a return to the city where his boxing journey began. Born in Curaçao, he built much of his professional career internationally before making his professional debut in Rotterdam on Saturday. Boxing Gladiators promoted the appearance as a homecoming.
The victory followed another early finish in his previous outing. On April 10 in Accra, Ghana, Vargas stopped Isaac Dowuona at 1:58 of the first round to improve to 9-0 with eight knockouts.