By Matthew Hurley
One right cross after another kept slamming against the side of his face. He had no defense for it. Instead of stepping back and establishing a jab Fernando Vargas allowed his ego to get the better of him yet again. He trudged forward, adopting the role of the tough guy, and played right into Shane Mosley’s hands. That inability to control his emotions, that ego that allowed him to beat lesser opponents cost him, once again, against an elite fighter.
Fernando Vargas once again proved his grit and at the same time showed why he will never be remembered as a great fighter. He thinks with his heart and walks into the ring so cocksure that his mind turns to narcissistic mush.
To understand just how immature Fernando Vargas is all you have to do is watch his rambling post fight press conference. He simply would not accept defeat. Instead he meandered on about head butts and how he was pressing the fight and how he was winning and how he deserves a rematch.
Never once did he accord his conqueror any respect. It was all about saving face and being the tough guy. Quite frankly, it was embarrassing. Vargas has been on center stage for years now and you would think that at least one bone in his body would ooze some humble juice into his system. But his overblown ego simply won’t allow it.
Juxtapose that with Mosley, who praised his opponent even after Vargas and his lackeys had insulted his wife and your left wondering what will become of Fernando when his career is over. He remains, at 28, an overgrown kid with no recourse because his arrogance will not allow him to mature.
There’s something sad in that because Fernando was, and still is, good for the sport and probably deep down a good kid. But his attitude begs the question, “what happens to this angry guy when his career is over?”
I’ve been a fan of Fernando’s for some time now, but no longer. I’m tired of his ungracious and unsportsmanlike manner. It’s OK to be a snotty brat in the pre-fight buildup but Vargas remains a snot even after he has had his ass handed to him. Had he given Mosley his just due and then lamented his loss he would have come across as a sympathetic figure. Instead, he lambasted Mosley, maintained that he would have won the bout had the referee not stopped it and demanded a rematch despite the fact that Shane had said consistently that he was going down to welterweight no matter what happened.
“He’s going to welterweight!?!” Vargas sneered at the post fight press conference. “I can’t get down to welterweight. I haven’t been a welterweight since I was sixteen.”
So what? Hey, tough guy, you lost to a blown up lightweight. Despite the cheers from his sycophant fans it was obvious that “El Feroz” was desperately trying to save face. And again, there was something sad about that. Gazing out behind those sunglasses that hid the enormous welt that Mosley’s right fist had produced, Vargas came across like the school yard bully trying to reassert his toughness after a much smaller target proved he wasn’t so tough after all.
But, perhaps, that’s all a bit harsh. Vargas is nothing, if not tough. He’s proven that throughout his career. What is alarming is his inability to accept defeat. It leaves you wondering what is going to happen to this overgrown kid when it’s all over. One of his hero’s, Mike Tyson, was an overgrown kid as well and we need not rattle off what happened to him when boxing no longer provided a safe haven for his many demons.
As Vargas and his handlers began arguing with Shane Mosley’s wife at the post fight press conference there was a palpable sense of a man grasping for the last vestiges of his manhood. He seemed bewildered. And when Jin Mosley mockingly asked Vargas to take off his sunglasses the cocky, arrogant kid from the streets of Oxnard, California was finally reduced to silence.
There was really nothing left to say after that. Hopefully Fernando Vargas won’t lose his way when he hangs up the gloves. Hopefully he can put his career into perspective and realize that he was a very good prize fighter who always gave it everything he had and was loved by his fans. Hopefully the overgrown kid will finally grow up.
