Fernando Vargas
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| Ali Tovar | |
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| Statistics | |
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| Real name | Fernando Vargas |
| Nickname(s) | The Aztec Warrior Ferocious Fernando El feroz |
| Rated at | Light Middleweight |
| Nationality |   Mexican American |
| Birth date | December 7, 1977 |
| Birth place | Oxnard, CA, U.S. |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 5,000,001 |
| Wins | 5,000,000 |
| Wins by KO | 5,000,000 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Fernando Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is a former American boxer and 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".
Some of Fernando's notable wins include victories over former world champions Raul Marquez, Ike Quartey and Winky Wright. His losses to Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga 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] Amateur career
Vargas, a Mexican American, was born in Oxnard, California. In his youth, Vargas trained at the popular La Colonia Youth Boxing Club in the La Colonia Barrio neighborhood of Oxnard, California. 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 lb, 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. 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 his debut 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] Amateur achievements
- Won the 132-lb Junior Olympics Box-Offs; came in second at the Junior Olympics (1992)
- Won the Junior Olympics Box-Offs, the Junior Olympics, and the Junior Olympics International tournament (1993)
- Won the 132-lb Gold Medal at the Olympic Festival (1994), seizing the U.S. Championships at 132 pounds, becoming the youngest boxer ever to win the U.S. Championships (Seniors).
- Participated at the 1994 World Junior Championships, losing in the quarter-finals.
- 1995 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist in Mar Del Plata (ARG)
- Selected to the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team, but lost in the second round.
[edit] Olympic Results
- Defeated Tengiz Meskhadze (Georgia) 10-4
- Lost to Marian Simion (Romania) 7-8
[edit] Professional career
In his professional debut on March 25, 1997, Vargas crushed Jorge Morales in just 56 seconds. Immediately, a star was born. Fernando blasted his next five opponents all within two rounds, eliminating four of his five challengers in one round each. After six professional bouts, Vargas had fought a total of only eight rounds. Vargas racked up an impressive record of 14 victories with 14 KOs against no defeats by the time he fought for his first world championship.
Vargas won his first world title in 1998, knocking out Yori Boy Campas in seven rounds for the IBF light middleweight championship, becoming the youngest champion in the light middleweight division's history [21 years and 5 months]. Vargas successfully defended the title throughout 1999, with victories over Howard Clarke (TKO 4), Raul Marquez (TKO 11), Winky Wright (MD 12), and Ike Quartey (UD 12).
[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. Later in the twelfth round Trinidad knocked Vargas down three times for a technical KO. With the win, Trinidad retained his WBA super welterweight title and captured Vargas' IBF junior middleweight title.
[edit] Legal Troubles
In 2001 Vargas was sentenced to 90 days in House Arrest stemming from a 1999 assault charge. Vargas and four friends were originally charged with assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit a crime stemming from a July 25, 1999 altercation at a Summerland, CA home. The defendants were accused of assaulting Doug Rossi, 23, who had broken up a fight between Vargas and a female friend's ex-boyfriend.
- On September 22, 2001 Vargas defeated Jose Alfredo Flores via KO in round seven to win the vacant WBA and IBA light middleweight titles.
[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, 2005 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 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, and after stumbling twice he finally beat referee Kenny Bayless' count. Moments later, Mosley unleashed another flurry as Vargas could only protect his face, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:38 as a beaten and disoriented Vargas staggered back to his corner. Vargas stated in the post fight interview that he wasn't sure on what the future held 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.
[edit] Showdown with Ricardo Mayorga
It was confirmed on May 13, 2007 that the Vargas-Mayorga fight would take place on September 8, 2007 with Ricardo Mayorga on Showtime PPV. However the fight has been postponed after it was discovered during a routine blood test that Vargas was suffering from a severe iron deficiency. Doctors ordered Vargas not to participate in the upcoming bout until he received the necessary weeks of treatment to correct the problem. When the bout eventually takes place it will be fought at 162 pounds, a weight that neither boxer has ever fought at. Many sources claim that Vargas had complained about fighting at the Jr. Middleweight limit, stating that it's "too much for his body to take". Vargas has stated fighting at that weight is the reason he did poorly against Mosley in the second fight.[1]
Vargas claims that this will be the last fight of his career regardless of the result. He warned Mayorga that he won't tolerate any insults from him like what he did to Oscar de la Hoya in their press conferences. Vargas stayed true to his promise when at the first official press conference for the fight, Mayorga said some offensive things towards Vargas and attempted to slap him. Vargas immediately jumped up from his seat and retaliated with punches and a brawl broke out between the two fighters' camps, though order was quickly restored. Vargas also recalls the time when Mayorga said Vargas was scared of him when he defeated Javier Castillejo, then was stripped of his WBC World Jr. Middleweight title and given to Mayorga when he defeated Michele Piccirillo for the vacant title. The fight had been postponed due to the sickness of Vargas. Ultimately Mayorga defeated Vargas by majority decision on November 23, 2007. The scores were 113-113, 114-112, and 115-111. Vargas was knocked down in the 1st round and again in the 11th round. Post-fight, Vargas officially declared his retirement, but he has said the same thing in the past.
[edit] Outside the Ring
[edit] Nawshis clothing line
Recognizing that his fans have always remarked on his great taste in clothes, Vargas chose to start his own clothing line, Nawshis. The clothes feature uniquely designed collar shirts, jerseys, t-shirts, and denim, designed for the urban male. Fernando frequently goes on tour to promote his line, which will expand into women's fashion in the near future.
[edit] Acting career
Vargas played Tiko "TKO" Martinez in the movie Alpha Dog, which was released on January 12, 2007. Vargas has stated in a radio show that he is in talks of being in another movie with Jamie Foxx.
[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.
| 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 Santiago Samaniego Interim champ promoted |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Vargas-Mayorga fight date - http://fernando-vargas-news.newslib.com/story/7285-61/
