By Frank Lotierzo
At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, junior middleweight David Reid was the only American boxer who won a Gold Medal. Fighting right below Reid in the welterweight division was Fernando Vargas. The 19 year old Vargas lost a controversial decision in the second round and didn't medal. However, Vargas was covered like a future champ when he turned pro. Not quite as much as Reid at first, but Vargas was the fighter thought by many insiders to have the better pro career.
While Reid was being rushed because of his droopy eye, Vargas was making steady progress as he steadily stepping up the level of the opposition he faced. Vargas, who was an aggressive boxer-puncher, loved to fight. More often than not his bouts were exciting and it didn't take long before he became a fan favorite. The problem Vargas had from a style vantage point was, he loved to trade and go toe-to-toe, which resulted in his first defeat versus Felix Trinidad. In his next big fight, Vargas didn't seek the knockout as much. In his fight against Oscar De La Hoya, instead of being overwhelmed by power punching, he was undone by the jab and lateral movement.
Despite losing both fights, Vargas hurt Trinidad and put him down, just has he hurt De La Hoya and was actually in control of the fight during the early going. Another thing the two fights that Vargas lost shared, was that he took a lot of clean and hard punches during them. Trinidad had Vargas down five times before the fight was stopped in the 12th round, De La Hoya put him down once and administered a brutal two-handed assault while Vargas was pinned against the ropes before the fight was halted in the 11th round.
Even though Vargas defeated future champ Winky Wright and former champ Ike Quartey, both Trinidad and De La Hoya held a significant advantage over him when they fought, both having fought and defeated several championship caliber fighters before fighting him. Trinidad had as many world title bouts as Vargas had total bouts, while De La Hoya had eight years of fighting at the championship level on his resume, compared to Vargas who wasn't quite a five year pro. The ideal scenario for Vargas would've been for him to have more experience against upper-tier fighters before confronting either Trinidad or De La Hoya. But a title shot for millions of dollars can't be turned down in the sport of boxing. The fight was driven by the fact that both fights were in demand at the time they were made. Something that would've ended had either fighter lost in the interim before they met. Which had to be taken into account and considered before any manager could pass on that much money since nothing is guranteed in boxing. Not to mention fighting two fights that netted multi-million dollar purses. The fact is Vargas made close to nine million dollars for fighting Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. That's too much money for any competent manager to turn down.
Even though Trinidad had a reachable chin that wasn't considered LaMotta like, his experience and power made him the most dangerous fighter in the division. Especially knowing that Fernando would be more than willing to fight and trade with him. When the De La Hoya fight was offered, to Vargas, his management had to determine if their fighter had recovered from being stopped by Trinidad. Which resulted in him not looking good and almost getting knocked out by Wilfredo Rivera in the second round of his next fight. In his only other fight before taking on De La Hoya, Vargas looked average in stopping Jose Flores. Something that should've concerned the Vargas faction about fight De La Hoya by the Vargas faction, was Vargas would be confronting a desperate Oscar De La Hoya. Heading into his bout with Fernando Vargas, De La Hoya was 3-2 in his last five fights.
Most likely the Vargas team knew he would be the betting underdog against Trinidad and De La Hoya, despite there being a good case to make that he could win the fight. They figured if he competes, even if he loses, his career won't suffer badly. As long as he's not ruined as a result of either fight, it's a win-win for him.
With the hindsight of five years to look back, it looks like that's exactly what happened to Fernando Vargas. The punishment he endured during both fights took a lot out of him physically and mentally. The fact that his career seems close to being over at age 27 is not good, but at least he got some of the big money that all fighters hope and dream of getting at sometime during their career. Making him both lucky and unique. And he still has a shot to cash a big check again if he gets a rematch with De La Hoya.
Fernando Vargas probably realizes he better do all he can to secure a rematch and super-big pay day with former rival and new found friend Oscar De La Hoya. Based on what I saw in his fight with Javier Castillejo, I believe it's unrealistic to think Vargas will be in the sport of boxing much longer. Against Castillejo, Vargas showed a better defense than what he had shown in previous fights. He also hardly engaged much with a fighter who is not known as a puncher.
It was obvious that Vargas showed was making a concentrated effort not to fight with the aggression he used to, often leaving himself open. It's never a good thing when a fighter opens himself up to get hit repeatedly unnecessarily. At the same time he can't go overboard the other way either. Vargas didn't even lean on or push Castillejo when he had him down or hurt. Why? From what I saw, he didn't want Castillejo fighting for his ring life, making him throw anything and everything as hard as he could to try to keep from being stopped. That type of strategy would increase the chances of him getting nailed on the way in or out. So his only alternative as he saw it, was to fight just enough to stay ahead of Castillejo, without allowing him to get brave or forcing him to fight out of desperation. So he fought a somewhat measured pace while letting his hands go in rapid fire combination to keep him honest. That is when he deemed it was safe.
That's not saying Fernando Vargas fought scared during the fight with Castillejo, but he did fight with some trepidation. That's not who he is and as long as he fights with that mind set, he'll never really be the best Fernando Vargas again. Take into consideration the disc problems he's had with his back, going up a lot in weight in between fights and having long inactive periods, it's safe to assume he's not all there physically. That's not even taking in to account the damage he suffered physically and emotionally in his fights with Trinidad and De La Hoya.
I also believe that Vargas handlers are aware of this and they're doing all they can to hide it and protect him. The biggest thing going for them is Oscar De La Hoya has said publicly that he would fight Vargas again. On top of that he'd get a chance to even the score against a soft De La Hoya and he more than likely wouldn't take a terrible beating if he lost. Hopefully that's the way it will unfold for both Fernando and Oscar, with both retiring rich and young after the fight.
In closing, it must not be forgotten. Fernando Vargas wasn't babied or protected on the way up. From what I can see, he was brought along the right way. Today at almost 28, Fernando Vargas appears to be at the end of what was an outstanding professional boxing career. Which very well could be the result of the punches he took in two fights, and it very well could be the result of just one.
I'm sure when Fernando Vargas turned pro back in 1997, he didn't think his career would be over by the time he was 28. What he did expect when he turned pro was to become a world champion and make a lot of money. He's achieved both. How many fighters can say that? I think most who follow boxing know the answer to that. Because of Vargas' young age, we sometimes forget three things fighters wish they could control about their career, -(1)- they'd win the title, -(2)- they'd make a lot of money -(3)- they'd get out of boxing while they're young and still have their health. It seems to me Vargas' is healthy enough to live a normal life after he retires from boxing.
How many fighters/champions can say they've had three multi-million dollar pay days? Simon Brown can't, Terry Norris, can't and neither can Mike McCallum. It's already been established without a rematch with De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas can say that he's done both. As long as Vargas isn't hurt against De La Hoya, who cannot be close to the fighter he once was, he'll leave boxing in great shape compared to many other former champions. Meaning he won.
"Boxing is the only sport you can get your brain shook, your money took and your name in the undertaker book." Joe Frazier