The Vargas Affect : Fernando Vargas in his Prime

In sports-Athletes are remembered for a number a things; a home run in the bottom of the 9th, a miraculous catch in the end zone, or a fighter picking himself off the canvas to score a dramatic stoppage.

Mainstream sport fans and hardcore boxing fans alike have one thing in common-besides their devotion to one particular team or athlete,it’s their ability to look past the faults of their hero’s while lifting their accomplishments to near mythical levels of achievement.

This is one of those athletes and he goes by the name “El Feroz”.

A 19 year old Mexican/American and U.S. Olympian known more then for being “precocious” than ferocious-but that would change within the first year of his career.

From the beginning, Vargas was a rare breed of fighter. One that not only had a great boxing pedigree but he also possessed charisma and charm. A common trait among fan favorites in any sport add that along with his warriors spirit which became the hall mark attribute to his legion of endearing fans.

He was the other Mexican/American boxing darling at the time-The anti Oscar De La Hoya. Except this one, wore the black cape.

Early on Vargas proved he was the real deal, reeling off 14 wins all by way of knockout within 17 months of turning pro. Earning him his first title shot against Yori Boy Campas-A fight Vargas would win by making Campas quit on his stool.

It would cement his legacy as the youngest ever junior middleweight champion. Later supplanted ironically by the “new”, new, version of De La Hoya-Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Yet the record was just the beginning of what fans would be accustomed to from the ferocious one.

With his trademark dyed blonde bangs accompanying his freshly shaved head, a look that would become his trademark. Vargas would continue to take the boxing scene by storm. Defending his title against the likes of boxing veterans Raul Marquez, Ike Quartey and Ronald “Winky” Wright all within his first 20 pro fights. He was a fighter destined for greatness.

His record and popularity would eventually earn Vargas the opportunity to face pound for pound king Felix “Tito” Trinidad in only his 21st pro fight, 5 days shy of his 23rd birthday. While most 23 year olds are just finishing college, starting new careers. Vargas was facing one of Puerto Rico’s all-time best fighters and not just any all-timer, such as one that perhaps had seen better days. He faced the version of Trinidad that was in his prime-The 27 years old, undefeated, hardest puncher in the game, beast version of Tito.

Let that sink in.

To put it in perspective Floyd Mayweather is 36 years old facing a 23 year old Canelo Alvarez in a week. Trinidad had 31 knockouts in his 38 pro fights leading up to the Vargas fight- Mayweather only has 26 KO’s in his 44 pro bouts and his last real KO was Ricky Hatton (no, I do not count the Ortiz knockout as legit) back in 2007, furthermore Mayweather is not known to be a KO artist.

Vargas broke the mold of a young and talented fighter facing the best boxers in the world at such a young age. But in doing so-it also showed the downside of being young and talented and taking on the best at a very young age.

Boxing promoters and managers took what Vargas went through and slowed up the progression of fighters after what seemed to transpire after the Vargas loss. Promoters realized that their fighters especially the highly talented ones needed more than a year or two to become legitimate and more importantly a threat in boxing.

Case and point. Miguel Cotto,Gary Russell Jr, Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. Amir Khan and Adrien Broner to name a few.

While all these fighters are talented and have found success in their early twenties, their teams are also aware on how important and necessary it is to build a brand around these fighters.

Cotto while he is now to be considered a great fighter now-coming in to the pro ranks after a run in the 2000 Olympics only had 13 pro fights after two years. His first “big” test would be against Cesar Bazan a fighter who would not be confused with Trinidad even when Bazan was in his prime. Cotto would bypass any real threat until the end of 2004, roughly four years after he turned pro and at the age of 24 and no where near facing a top 10 pound for pound let alone the #1 p4p fighter as Vargas had.

Russell Jr. is in his 5th year as a pro and he only has 24 fights under his belt and as any fight fan can attest, he is still fighting TBA opponents. A long way from facing a p4p fighter at this stage of his career.

Broner at his two year mark was fighting for a youth belt while Khan was fighting for European Commonwealth titles within two years of turning pro and he was quickly dispatched by a relative unknown fighter Breidis Prescott in his 19th pro fight.

And so we have it. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is the “raising” the bar for young fighters to face the best at a young age as Vargas had done before him. Yet, is there even a real comparison between Vargas and Canelo?

Sure, Canelo did break the record Vargas held by becoming the youngest light middleweight champion when he defeated Matthew Hatton for the VACANT WBC middleweight strap. You read that correctly, Canelo did not have to fight a reigning champion or even a top 5 light middleweight contender- He fought a fringe contender who never campaigned at light middleweight let alone earned a shot at the light middleweight belt. Point blank, Hatton had no right to be fighting for the belt at the time or any time actually.

Yet that is exactly what happened and it gave Canelo the title of being the youngest ever light middleweight Champion. However, if you ask a majority of boxing fans if Canelo earned that title, a good majority would probably say no.

Vargas in past interviews has brought up the fact that Canelo never fought at light middleweight yet earned the #1 spot as well as the fact that Hatton never fought at light middleweight. Which leads me to believe that perhaps Vargas doesn’t take Canelo breaking his record as if Canelo actually earned the record but perhaps was a recipient of some good managing.

However, Boxing is not baseball and there will never be a push for an asterisk next to Canleo’s name for not earning his title, but for boxing fans that want to anoint Canelo as a true champion and warrior for facing the best fighter in the world at such a young age they need to first give credit where credit is due and that credit is to “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas.

A fighter that earned his belt, a fighter that to this day gets love from boxing fans no matter where he goes. Boxing fans do not need their favorite fighters to have a zero on their record- Boxing fans love the fighters who give it their all every time they step into the ring, the ones that fight with pride and honor-The fighters that are willing to die in the ring.

Vargas epitomized what it meant to have heart, courage, mettle and plain old Mexican warrior pride.

Fernando Vargas was 22 years old when he faced Felix Trinidad. A 27 year old Trinidad who was one of the most feared fighters at the time and not because he had the shoulder roll or because he was the most hated man in boxing, Trinidad was feared because he could take you out in a single punch-Just ask William Joppy. Vargas took his best shots and almost lost within the first two and a half minutes of the first round.

However, Vargas was a warrior and survived that first; made it to the final round before finally succumbing to what one would describe as a heart and determination but ultimately too much to overcome.

The fight was called off with 1:27 left in the 12th round.

While it would be the first loss in Vargas career, his legacy was already cemented and as a fan that attended that fight, I can attest it was one of the largest and liveliest crowds in attendance I have ever been to. Mandalay Bay was packed from the entrance of Aureole with fans sitting all around the water areas on top of rocks all the way to Mandalay Bay Events Center entrance; fight fans packed the casino. Not all had fight tickets but it didn’t matter. They were there to support Vargas and Trinidad- Chanting Vargas, Trinidad, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

A 22 year old Fernando Vargas will always be bigger than a 22 year old Canelo, or Mayweather, even De La Hoya. In 20 years, Vargas will probably still be bigger than most the fighters currently and that won’t be a surprise. He left it all in the ring and he earned his place in history. Records are meant to be broken and eventually someone will break Canelo’s record but no one will forget the first, the one they called “El Feroz”