His mother, Annette Vargas, fought and did whatever she could to provide for him and his two sisters.

Now, he’s fighting to honor her memory.

Vargas will defend his WBA bantamweight title against Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez on Saturday night at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on DAZN. It’ll mark his first fight since his mother died at 46 from uterine cancer eight months ago.

“It’s definitely something special,” Vargas told The Ring. “I dedicate it to my mother. I’m going to dedicate it to Christ, but one thing I pray, I’m like, ‘Lord, help me to honor my mother and honor Christ in all of my fights.’ This fight will be a little more special.”

Vargas (19-1-1, 11 KOs) has two younger sisters. Of Annette’s three children, he is the only one who has her last name.

For as long as Vargas can remember, he always had his mother’s love and support.

She helped guide Vargas to becoming a 2016 U.S. Olympian and a world champion in 2025.

“She helped me to be who I am today,” he said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. I do my best to train hard to honor her and keep her legacy living through me.”

One instance when he needed her love and support the most was after the lone defeat of his career, a first-round knockout to Jose Maria Cardenas in 2019. The loss caused him to spiral and contemplate quitting boxing.

Ultimately, his faith and opening up to his mother helped pull him out of a dark place.

“It was definitely comforting knowing that I could talk to her and express myself and get the love and support that you’ll never find nowhere else besides the love of your mother," he said.

Rediscovering his love for boxing wasn’t the only battle Vargas fought in 2020. Later that year, Annette was diagnosed with a rare form of uterine cancer.

Annette did anything she could to provide for her kids when they were younger, which included taking Lynx buses, riding her bike to work, or using food stamps. Vargas did whatever he could to help her.

“I had a lot of faith,” Vargas said. “I thought the Lord was going to heal my mom. I would go days without eating. I would fast. The Bible talks about fasting. ... I would cry to the Lord, just like, ‘Lord, I give you a sacrifice.’ I’d go days without eating, asking the Lord to heal my mom.”

Annette was initially given just two years to live, but she survived for five years after her diagnosis. The same fight she had to take care of her kids was directed toward battling the illness.

Vargas, 29, signed with BoxLab Promotions in 2022. With BoxLab hosting its events at Caribe Royale in Orlando, that meant his mother could make the two-hour trip from Ocala to be at his fights.

In the last fight she attended, Vargas beat Winston Guerrero by 10th-round technical knockout in December 2024 to win the WBA interim bantamweight title.

"My last couple of fights are the memories I have with her," he said.

He was later elevated to full champion after Seiya Tsutsumi’s injury relegated him to champion in recess. Vargas headed to Japan for his next fight to face Daigo Higa in July 2025, but his mother couldn’t make the trip.

“Go out there and show them who you are. God is with you,” he recalled her texting him. “Every fight, she would do that.”

Vargas and Higa exchanged knockdowns and fought to a thrilling unanimous draw.

Annette’s condition progressively got worse, and two weeks before her passing Vargas had to face reality.

He received a phone call from his father, Jose Esteves. He told him his mother had to go to a hospice because her mind began to leave her, and she was losing her ability to walk. Vargas went to Ocala and stayed at a hotel near her for a week while preparing to face Tsutsumi.

“I thought she had another year left. I did,” Vargas said. “She was able to talk, but you could tell she was in and out. The next week after that, she couldn’t talk at all. She could just nod yes or no.”

During her last week, Vargas’ father asked if she wanted to keep fighting. Through all of the pain and medication, Annette nodded yes.

“I've never seen that in my life,” Vargas said. “Being paralyzed and still having that will to fight and to want to live. I just remember that I’m like, ‘Wow, Lord, I believe that’s where I get it from.’”

Vargas returned home after one week. His wife, Melody, told him on October 1 that his mother had died.

Three days later, Vargas went to see her one last time.

“That’s when it hit me,” he said. “Seeing her body, I waited probably for 30 minutes by her side. I’m like, ‘OK, no more pain, no more suffering.’ I know she was with the Lord. That gave me some peace and comfort, knowing that she wasn’t in pain or suffering.”

Vargas has battled a whirlwind of emotions since her passing. Grief has come in waves. Some moments he’s fine, and others he breaks down in tears because of how much he misses her.

He has also leaned on writing as a way to express himself, trying to navigate his emotions.

“I was writing a poem,” Vargas said. “I haven’t finished it yet, but the poem is called ‘My First Love,’ and the whole part of the poem is that when you come into this world, the first love you experience is the love of your mother. Even before I experienced it with my wife, when my son and daughter were born, it’s a love that you build with them before they are born.

“But as a mother, you feel them kick. You feel them do all these things. That’s my first memory I have. I remember my mom always playing with me, motherly love that you can never express, and you will never find nowhere else.”

The biggest heartbreak Vargas feels is being unable to give his mother the life he imagined. While he’s able to provide for his family and make sure they’re well taken care of, he wanted Annette to be here to experience that, too.

"I know she’s in heaven, and one of my best memories with her, I led her to Christ, and I got to baptize her," Vargas said.

“I know there’s nothing in this life that I could give her according to what God has in store for her right now. That comforts me, but as a son, I wanted to take her out, have a good life and show her the world.”

Vargas asked for his fight against Tsutsumi (13-0-3, 8 KOs) to be pushed back one month. Instead, the WBA named him its champion in recess and elevated Tsutsumi back to full champion.

Vargas was training to face Tsutsumi on April 11 in Japan, but a facial injury the Japanese champion suffered in his split-decision win over Nonito Donaire in December caused another postponement. Vargas could stay on the card against a different opponent or wait two months for Rodriguez.

Facing an opponent of Rodriguez’s caliber was too good to pass up. Vargas was elevated back to full champion before his defense against Rodriguez (23-0, 16 KOs), The Ring’s No. 4 fighter pound for pound.

Beating Rodriguez would be the crowning achievement of Vargas and mark one of boxing’s biggest upsets in recent years. Vargas is fighting for something more than his legacy in the squared circle, though.

“It keeps me with the fire and more than anything, I just want to honor my mother,” Vargas said. “Even though she’s not here, I’ll still honor her memory. I’m gonna train as hard as I can. One thing, my mother, she loved my wife and my children. I believe that was the main thing that kept her. That’s why she wanted to fight, because she wanted to be a part of their lives. Those were her first grandchildren. I just remember how much she loved them, and I believe they gave her that desire to fight.

“Knowing that, it makes me want to train so much harder, so I can make sure that they’re taken care of. My children will never suffer with anything. They’ll have a good life, and I always owe that to my mother. Even though she won’t be alive to see it, I'll live on her behalf to give my children what I wanted to give to my mother.”