Fernando Vargas
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| Ferocious Fernando Vargas | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Fernando Javier Vargas |
| Nickname | The Aztec Warrior |
| Weight | Light Middleweight |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | December 7, 1977 |
| Birth place | Oxnard, CA |
| Style | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 30 |
| Wins | 26 |
| Wins by KO | 22 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Fernando Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is a boxer from Oxnard, California and a two-time world champion, who won a bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. His nicknames include "Ferocious" and "The Aztec Warrior". Vargas has benefited from an exceptionally distinguished corner team. He was formerly trained by International Boxing Hall Of Fame member Lou Duva. He is promoted by Main Events, a prominent promotional firm. His manager is Shelly Finkel, who also manages the career of Mike Tyson. Through his association with Duva, Fernando become friends with world champions such as Pernell Whitaker and Mark Breland.
Some of Fernando's victims include former world champions Raul Marquez, Ike Quartey and Winky Wright (though many thought Wright won his fight against Vargas). His losses to Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, and Shane Mosley remain his only career defeats and he is a favorite of American cable tv giant HBO.
Fernando is very good friends with Julio César Chávez; Chavez has been part of Vargas' ring entourage in at least two fights (the fight with Trinidad and the fight with de la Hoya).
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[edit] Early Years in Amateurs & Olympics
Fernando Vargas compiled an extraordinary amateur record of 100-5. In 1992, he won the 132 lb. championships at the Junior Olympics Box-Offs, and came in second at the Junior Olympics. In 1993, he captured the triple crown of amateur boxing: the Junior Olympics Box-Offs, the Junior Olympics, and the Junior Olympics International tournament. The following year he solidified his position as one of the premier amateur fighters in the world by winning the 132 lb. gold medal at the Olympic Festival, seizing the U.S. Junior Championships at 132 lbs., and by becoming the youngest fighter ever to win the U.S. Championships. In 1995, he was selected to the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team.
Vargas lost a controversial decision in the second round of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics thanks to the much-maligned and often-ridiculed Olympic scoring system. Disappointed, but undaunted, Vargas set his sights on achieving greatness in the professional ranks.
Vargas was scheduled to turn pro on November of 1996, however, while training for the bout he broke his right hand. Eager to turn pro and begin his march toward a world championship, Vargas "ferociously" followed his physical therapy program, and within five months he was ready for his professional debut.
[edit] Professional career
In his professional debut on March 25, 1997, Vargas crushed Jorge Morales -- a veteran of 33 bouts -- in just 56 seconds. Immediately, a star was born. Fernando blasted his next five opponents within two rounds, eliminating four of his five challengers in one round. After six professional bouts, Vargas had fought a total of only eight rounds.
Vargas won his first world title in 1998, knocking out Yori Boy Campas in seven rounds for the IBF belt, becoming the youngest champion in the junior middleweight division's history [21 years and 5 months]
[edit] Trinidad vs. Vargas
He lost that title to Félix Trinidad in 2000. Trinidad knocked down Fernando Vargas twice in the first round and three times in the final round to win by TKO. After being stunned in the first two rounds, Vargas roared back and knocked down Trinidad in the fourth round. Trinidad immediately struck Vargas with low blows after rising from the canvas. With the win, Trinidad retained his WBA super welterweight title and captured Vargas' IBF junior middleweight title.
[edit] de la Hoya vs. Vargas
- On September 14, 2002, Vargas surrendered his WBA and IBA titles to Oscar de la Hoya in an historical Jr. Middleweight championship unification showdown that filled the Mandalay Bay Events Center to capacity and sold approximately one million pay-per-view buys.
- In the early rounds Vargas used his natural strength (he fights at a naturally higher weight) to bully de la Hoya against the ropes and land right hands to the head and body; however, in the middle and late rounds Vargas fatigued and de la Hoya's hand speed took over. After hurting Vargas at the end of round 10, de la Hoya dropped Vargas in the next round with a left hook to the head, and stopped him moments later with a flurry at the 1:48 mark of the round.
- During the mandatory drug testing after the de la Hoya fight, Vargas tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol. Vargas said the steroids were given to him without his knowledge, but he accepted full responsibility. The Nevada Athletic Commission announced on November 20 of 2002 that it would fine Vargas $100,000 because of his use of steroids. Fernando Vargas was suspended for nine months.
[edit] On the Comeback Trail
Despite these problems, Fernando remains an accessible celebrity who signs many autographs. After his knockout win over Fitz Vanderpool on July 26, 2003, he stood at a corner and yelled "I love you guys!" to his fans. Vargas continued his comeback, on December 12, with a seventh round knockout of Tony Marshall that was shown live nationwide from Tucson, on Telemundo. During that fight, Vargas injured a disc in his back, and his doctor recommended surgery to be performed, but Vargas chose to rehabilitate his back himself without having the surgery. This caused him to spend almost two years in inactivity, but, on March 26 he returned to boxing with a ten round unanimous decision win over Ray Joval in Corpus Christi, Texas.
On August 20, 2005, he returned to the boxing ring to fight fellow former world Jr. Middleweight champion Javier Castillejo of Spain. Vargas dropped Castillejo in the third round, but he apparently broke his right hand and went on to win by a ten round unanimous decision.
[edit] Mosley vs. Vargas I & II
On February 25, 2006, Vargas once again returned to the ring to face fellow Southern California boxer Sugar Shane Mosley. In a tightly contested battle, Vargas' left eye became grotesquely swollen and referee Joe Cortez decided to stop the fight in the 10th round to minimize further damage, granting a technical knockout (TKO) victory to Mosley. The reasoning behind the stoppage, explained Nevada State Athletic Commission czar Marc Ratner, was that the referee and the fight doctor decided that if Vargas could not defend himself by right hands, that they were going to stop the fight. At the time of the stoppage, two judges had Mosley winning the fight 86-85. One judge had Vargas winning the fight 86-85. Fightnews.com had the bout scored 86-85 for Mosley. In the post fight press conference, Vargas made it clear that he will resume his boxing career and stated that a rematch with Mosley should be in order because the match was stopped on a technicality. ESPN boxing expert Dan Rafael wrote: "Vargas is so utterly delusional about what actually happened in his first fight with Mosley that we think he might have a concussion. When will he stop lying to himself -- and when will his team stop going along with him? He needs to admit that: (a) The swelling around his eye was caused by a clean punch, not a headbutt; and (b) He was not winning the fight when it was stopped in the 10th round."
In their highly anticipated July 15, 2006 rematch, Vargas was stopped in the 6th round via 6th round TKO. When the sixth round began, Mosley landed a huge left hook that sent Vargas crashing to the canvas. Vargas rolled over onto all fours and was unsteady, but he beat referee Kenny Bayless' count. Moments later, Mosley unleashed another flurry and the referee stopped the fight at 2:38 as a beaten Vargas staggered back to his corner. Vargas stated in the post fight interview that he wasn't sure on what the future hold for him in the sport. Interestingly, on the same day Javier Castillejo who lost to Vargas recently, won the WBA middleweight belt. Vargas may be tempted to make a comeback after a dramatic loss in the same manner as other champions such as Arturo Gatti or Cory Spinks.
| Preceded by: Yory Boy Campas |
IBF Light Middleweight Champion 12 Dec 1998–2 Dec 2000 |
Succeeded by: Felix Trinidad |
| Preceded by: Felix Trinidad Vacated title |
WBA Light Middleweight Champion 22 Sep 2001–14 Sep 2002 |
Succeeded by: Oscar de la Hoya |
[edit] Nawshis Clothing Line
Recognizing that his fans have always remarked on his great taste in clothes, Vargas has chose to share his fashion savvy with the world. He decided to start his own clothing new line which is called Nawshis. The clothes feature uniquely designed collar shirts, jerseys, t-shirts, and denim that have been designed for the urban male. Fernando frequently goes on tour to promote his line. The Nawshis line will expand into women's fashion in the near future
[edit] Charitable work
In 2001, Vargas founded the "Ferocious Foundation for Kids" as a way to give back to his community a portion of the riches he has obtained as a boxer. On December 22, 2004, the organization had its fourth annual Christmas toy giveaway in Oxnard.
