Lightweight Amado Vargas finally had his breakout moment, stepping out of the shadows of his fighting family. Amado’s older brother, Fernando Vargas Jr., is named after their father, the former titleholder Fernando Vargas. His younger brother, Emiliano, is signed to Top Rank and hailed as an emerging prospect.
Amado made his mark on Saturday, stopping Sean Garcia (the brother of Ryan Garcia) in the sixth round of a scheduled eight-round bout when referee Edward Collantes halted the fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Vargas (11-0, 5 KOs), 23, had faced criticism over his competition and his emotional fighting style, which defied convention. But those attributes became his greatest strengths against Garcia (7-1-1, 2 KOs), also 23, who struggled to match Vargas' pace and conditioning. Vargas was relentless, and Garcia never managed to keep up with his high-revving engine.
“I've always been unorthodox, but when I crack people, they feel it,” Vargas said. “I'm not green anymore. I'm a skillful fighter who knows how to think in the ring.”
The difference in professionalism showed in the lead-up to Saturday’s fight as well. While Garcia missed weight by more than three pounds, Vargas came in nearly a pound under the lightweight limit.
“All the sacrifice paid off in the ring tonight,” he said.
Vargas dropped Garcia in the fourth round with a right uppercut to the head in his one-sided assault.
“It's been a long camp, and I was ready for this moment,” Vargas said. “We're here. The Vargas dynasty is here to stay.”
On his banner evening, Amado credited his father and brothers for the motivation and training that led to his standout victory.
“This is what I do. I spar hard fighters in Las Vegas so that I'm ready for this,” Vargas said. “I always get these guys in the later rounds because of my conditioning. That's a credit to my father and my whole training team.”
