Brinkley to fight Vargas July 6

Yerington's Jesse Brinkley will face off against Dallas Vargas from Toledo, Ohio, in the 10-round main event on the professional boxing card titled "Heavy Hands," on July 6 at the Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno.

Brinkley (26-5-0, 17 KOs) appeared on NBC's boxing reality show "The Contender" in 2005. Brinkley is now out to get his career back on track after some tough and controversial losses. In May of 2006 he dominated then undefeated, USNBC champion, Joey Spina for 10 rounds before getting hit with a body shot that eventually led to the referee stepping in and stopping the fight in the 11th round.

Brinkley also recently participated in ESPN's "The Contender Challenge UK VS USA." He fought former super middleweight champion Robin Reid in what turned out to be an unconventional, dirty, eight-round battle. The decision went to Reid in his native Great Britain. Brinkley hasn't fought in Northern Nevada since 2003.

Vargas (21-3-0, 15 KOs), an experienced fighter from the midwest, participated in Showtime's supper middleweight tournament last year in which he lost to undefeated Jean Paul Mendy. The loss to Mendy was controversial.

Referee Tony Weeks stepped in and stopped the fight in the first round during a barrage of punches thrown by Mendy while it appeared that Vargas was not hurt. Vargas is a tough and talented fighter who is familiar with beating the odds. He was born prematurely and has been hearing impaired for his entire life.

"Heavy Hands" is being presented by Mills Lane's Let's Get It On Promotions in association with the Eldorado Hotel Casino. The undercard for Heavy Hands will be announced as soon as information becomes available. The press conference for this event is scheduled for July 5 at 2 p.m. in the Eldorado Convention Center and is open to the public.

Tickets are available at the Eldorado box office. Call the box office, (775) 786-5700 or toll free, 1-800-648-5966. Prices range from $25.50 to $200.50. Doors open at 6 p.m. First bout is at 7 p.m.