Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time

light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA ...

world champion, having held the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 2001 to 2002. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisio ...

division at the

1995 Pan American Games File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

, and reached the second round of the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

bracket at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Vargas is best known for his heated rivalries against

Felix Trinidad Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championsh ...

Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF l ...

, and

Ricardo Mayorga Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan professional boxer and former mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), WBC, ''Ring'' magazine, and lin ...

Amateur career

In his youth Vargas compiled a remarkable 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 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He was scheduled to turn pro in November 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.

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 U.S. 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, defeated

Tengiz Meskhadze Tengiz Meskhadze (born 8 February 1969) is a Georgian boxer. He competed in the men's welterweight event at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and com ...

(Georgia) 10–4, but lost to

Marian Simion Marian Simion (born 14 September 1975 in București) is a Romanian boxer, who competed in the Light Middleweight (71 kg) at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the silver medal. He repeated that feat one year later, at the 2001 World Amateur B ...

(Romania) 7–8 in the second bout.Fernando Vargas
. sports-reference.com

Professional career

In his professional debut on March 25, 1997, Vargas crushed Jorge Morales in just 56 seconds. He quickly beat his next five opponents, spending only eight rounds in his first six bouts. By the time of his first world championship he won all his 14 bouts by knockout. He won his first world title in 1998, knocking out

Yori Boy Campas Luis Ramón "Yori Boy" Campas Medina (born August 6, 1971) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 2019. He held the IBF light middleweight title from 1997 to 1998. Background He is a native of Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico, ...

in seven rounds for the

light middleweight championship. Vargas successfully defended the title throughout 1999, with victories over

Howard Clarke Howard W. Clarke (1929–2015) was an American classicist. He was latterly Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Education and career Clarke graduated from Holy Cross College A.B. ...

(TKO 4),

Raúl Márquez Raúl Márquez (born August 28, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held IBF junior middleweight title between April and December 1997. Márquez also represented the U.S. at the 1992 Summer Olympics ...

(TKO 11),

Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...

(MD 12), and

Ike Quartey Isufu "Ike" Quartey (born 27 November 1969) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for IBF junior-middleweight title in 2000. Early yea ...

(UD 12).

Trinidad vs. Vargas

Vargas lost the title to

Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...

in 2000. Vargas was knocked down twice in the first round, he was able to fight his way back by knocking down Trinidad in the fourth round until finally being knocked out in the 12th and final round.

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, California 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.

De La Hoya vs. Vargas

*On September 14, 2002, Vargas surrendered his WBA title to

in a historical light middleweight championship unification showdown that filled the

Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circ ...

Events Center to capacity and sold approximately one million

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

buys. *In the early rounds Vargas bullied De La Hoya against the ropes and landed 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 Stanozolol ( abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceutical company W ...

better known as

Winstrol Stanozolol (abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceutical company Wi ...

. Vargas said the steroids were given to him without his knowledge, but he accepted full responsibility. The

Nevada Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, ...

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.

Comeback trail

Despite these problems, Fernando remained an accessible and popular celebrity, known for signing many

autographs An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

. After his knockout win over

Fitz Vanderpool Fitzroy "Fitz the Whip" Vanderpool is one of Canada's most decorated professional champions holding 6 title belts. Born November 3, 1967, in Trinidad and Tobago, he's a Canadian professional boxer who held the Canada Boxing Authority (NBA) Midd ...

on July 26, 2003, he stood in 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 , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, on TeleFutura. During that fight, Vargas injured a disc in his back, and his doctor recommended surgery, but Vargas chose to rehabilitate his back himself without having the procedure. 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 Raymond "Hallelujah" Joval (born 15 September 1968) is a Dutch professional boxer who held the International Boxing Organization middleweight title from 2000 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2006. Joval represented the Netherlands at the Boxi ...

in Corpus Christi, Texas. On August 20, 2005, he returned to the boxing ring to fight fellow former world light middleweight champion

Javier Castillejo Francisco Javier Castillejo Rodríguez (born 22 March 1968), commonly known as Javier Castillejo, is a Spanish former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2009. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including th ...

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.

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 Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF l ...

. In a tightly contested battle, Vargas' left eye became grotesquely swollen and referee

Joe Cortez Joe Cortez (born October 13, 1945) is an American former boxing referee who has officiated in many important world title bouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. Biography Cortez is of Puerto Rican descent. H ...

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 deemed that Vargas was unable to defend himself adequately against Mosley's right-hand shots. 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 would 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, but 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.

Showdown with Ricardo Mayorga

It was confirmed on May 13, 2007, that Vargas would face

on September 8, 2007, on Showtime PPV for the vacant WBC Continental Americas

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pound ...

title. However the fight was 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 took place it would 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 of 154 pounds, stating that it's "too much for his body to take". Vargas has stated that fighting at that weight was the reason he did poorly against Mosley in the second fight. Vargas claimed that this would be the last fight of his career regardless of the result. He warned Mayorga that he would not tolerate any insults from him like the ones he hurled at 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 recalled the time when Mayorga said Vargas was scared of him when he had defeated Javier Castillejo, then was stripped of his WBC light middleweight title rather than face Mayorga, who then defeated Michele Piccirillo for the vacant title. Ultimately the contestants faced off, and Mayorga defeated Vargas by majority decision on November 23, 2007. The scores were 113-113, 114–112, and 115–111. Crucially, Vargas was knocked down in the 1st round and again in the 11th round. Post-fight Ricardo Mayorga apologized to Vargas and the two forgave each other. Vargas officially declared his retirement soon after.

Cancelled return to boxing in 2011

It was confirmed that after a three-year hiatus, former world champion Fernando Vargas would return to the boxing ring against super middleweight Henry Buchanan on April 16, 2011, at Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. However, the fight was cancelled for unknown reasons.Brett Okamoto (January 28, 2011
Fernando Vargas to make comeback
sports.espn.go.com

Acting career

Vargas had a role in the

Crime Drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

film

Alpha Dog ''Alpha Dog'' is a 2006 American crime film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Shawn ...

where he played Tiko "TKO" Martinez. Vargas also plays an unnamed guest star on the television show

Moesha ''Moesha'' () is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with her upper middle class fami ...

. Season 2 Episode 3 titled "Mama said knock you out."

Reality television series

In 2014, Vargas and his family became the subjects of a

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Mun2 Universo is an American pay television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises subsidiary of NBCUniversal. The network serves as a companion cable channel to the NBCUniversal's flagship broadcast television network NBC and, to so ...

television station, ''Welcome to Los Vargas''. He also participated, alongside Judith Grace, Maripily, Pedro Rivera and Sissi Fleitas, among others, in the

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with prog ...

reality contest, ''Top Chef Celebrity.''

Professional boxing record

Pay-per-view bouts

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HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, - , - , {{center, {{dts, 2002, September, 14, format=mdy , De La Hoya vs. Vargas , Bad Blood , 935,000Pay-Per-View History
at about.com , HBO , -

References

{{Reflist

External links

*{{Official website, http://ferozfernandovargas.com/ *{{Boxrec, 7205 *{{IMDb name, 1470934 {{s-start {{s-sports {{s-text, style=background:#C1D8FF; font-weight: bold;, text=Minor world boxing titles {{s-break {{s-vac, last=Santos Cardona {{s-ttl, title=IBA

champion , years=September 22, 2001 – September 14, 2002 {{s-aft, after=

{{s-text, style=background:#C1D8FF; font-weight: bold;, text=Major world boxing titles {{s-bef, before=

{{s-ttl, title= IBF light middleweight champion , years=December 12, 1998 – December 2, 2000 {{s-aft, after=

{{s-vac, last=Félix Trinidad {{s-ttl, title=

WBA light middleweight champion This is a list of WBA world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Association (WBA). The list also includes champions certified by the National Boxing Association (NBA), the predecessor to the WBA. Boxers who won t ...

, years=September 22, 2001 – September 14, 2002
Lost bid for Super title {{s-aft, after=Oscar De La Hoya, as=Super champion {{s-end {{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Fernando Living people 1977 births American boxers of Mexican descent Sportspeople from Oxnard, California Boxers from California Participants in American reality television series Doping cases in boxing American sportspeople in doping cases World Boxing Association champions International Boxing Federation champions Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1995 Pan American Games Olympic boxers of the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States American male boxers Super-middleweight boxers Light-welterweight boxers Welterweight boxers World light-middleweight boxing champions Pan American Games medalists in boxing Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games