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Coming of Age

A bloodied Fernando Vargas proved his mettle by beating veteran Ike Quartey

By Richard Hoffer

It probably wasn't a star-making turn; Fernando Vargas didn't suddenly become boxing's franchise. You need more than a unanimous decision, even over a formidable former champion like Ike Quartey, to capture a sport's imagination. But it was a pretty good start all the same.

We now know that Vargas, with only 19 fights under his belt, is in this for the long haul. His first 17 bouts went the way they do for a lot of young prospects, easy knockouts all the way, the usual well-greased path. The 18th, in which Vargas struggled to retain his IBF 154-pound title in December against Winky Wright, was a red flag. That stumble, along with an arrest on assault charges (in which a stripper figured prominently), suggested that Vargas, whatever his talents, might choose an even better-greased path. A lot of phenoms slip at the first sign of competition or celebrity.

The charges still loom over Vargas. He's scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Santa Barbara, Calif., later this month for an alleged attack on a man last July in which a golf club figured nearly as prominently as that stripper. But other questions got knocked down (even if Quartey didn't) in the ring at Mandalay Bay's arena in Las Vegas last Saturday. Vargas didn't overwhelm Quartey, a former welterweight champion who lost a disputed decision to Oscar De La Hoya 14 months ago, or seriously hurt him. He did prove he belongs in that upper echelon of boxers, with all the other De La Hoyas out there, the pay-per-view boys. He has the skills, the toughness, the ability to think on his feet, the showmanship, the desire to win.

It wasn't just that he was willing to stand in with Quartey, who, despite his inactivity, remains a good benchmark for young talent. Consider that Vargas, a child of California's fast-food culture, was willing to subject himself to a dietary-disciplinarian strength coach while preparing for this fight. "For three months," Vargas said, "I didn't have ketchup on anything."

Harder bouts may require even greater resolve, but it was encouraging to see Vargas parading around the casino all week, lifting his shirt at any provocation to show his new abs. So he has pride. The best ones do.

Vargas's makeover was a little more to the point than Quartey's. For some reason, Quartey showed up with a Rodmanesque dye job. Maybe that's what happens when a guy fights just three times in 3 1/2 years -- he starts visiting hairdressers.

It seemed damning to point out that in the three years since the 30-year-old Quartey had last won a fight, the 22-year-old Vargas had won all 18 of his. Still, when it came to abdominal definition, Quartey was Vargas's equal. As he pointed out all week, he was in top shape, from having carried a grudge so long. Poor Quartey continues to believe he got jobbed in that De La Hoya fight, the one that sent the winner on to a $20 million-plus payday with Felix Trinidad (and Quartey back to the hotel he owns in Ghana).

It was Quartey's intention to redeem himself, just as it was Vargas's to move into the pay-per-view stratosphere. For the first time in his career Vargas was facing a fighter who was something more than a mere opponent. Quartey was there to win too.

The stakes were high, for a lot of the meaningful action in boxing has become centered in the lower weight classes. As De La Hoya prepares for his June 17 bout with Shane Mosley, negotiations continue for a rematch with Trinidad, the only man to have beaten De La Hoya. If Vargas could enter this tournament, his opportunities would be almost as vast as the pay-per-view money. For that matter, a Quartey win would put him back in the money.

The only meaningful prefight volleys were fired by Quartey, who knew what buttons to push. "Oscar is definitely better than this guy," he said, comparing the two Southern California fighters. "Who has he fought? Look at Oscar; he's fought everybody."

The subtext is that Vargas can't stand De La Hoya (and vice versa). In the Mexican-American community, which has been reluctant to embrace the more refined -- and, by definition, less macho -- De La Hoya, Vargas is considered more the real thing. For his part, Vargas can't abide comparison with De La Hoya, the multimillionaire, multimedia, ethnic-crossover impresario.

But Vargas never took the bait. Even as his life might seem out of control (he swears his reckless behavior is behind him), his mouth and his fights aren't. Once in the ring with Quartey, Vargas maintained a disciplined attack, outjabbing Quartey, who's known for his jab, and just staying busier. There was no high drama -- no knockdowns, few trying moments. There was, however, an ebb and flow to the fight, with Quartey coming on strong in the middle rounds, and plenty of action. Though CompuBox's punch stats show Vargas outthrowing Quartey by an amazing 909 to 645, the bout wasn't one-sided. The image a lot of people might remember from the night is Quartey banging out Vargas's mouthpiece. Or the blood smearing beneath Vargas's nose.

Those moments were most important because they demonstrated that, even if everything wasn't going his way, Vargas could respond. He was artful in neutralizing the more experienced Quartey, turning him into the ropes and unleashing his own flurries. When the fight was over and the judges had pretty much agreed on a wide margin of victory, Quartey's right eye was nearly closed.

Vargas immediately began positioning himself for a bigger-money bout. (He received $1.35 million for Saturday's labor.) He cannily addressed Trinidad, saying, "I'm the Mexican who won't run away," alluding to the bout De La Hoya let go with late-round safety-first tactics. "I'll stand and fight, show you how a real Mexican fights."

Right now, however, Trinidad's promoter, Don King, only has ears for Trinidad-De La Hoya II, which is penciled in for Sept. 9. The rematch has been problematic from the get-go, with De La Hoya, still a welterweight, and Trinidad, comfortable at 154 pounds, unable to agree on a weight. But, assuming that De La Hoya beats Mosley (a grand assumption) Trinidad-De La Hoya will be the fight of the rest of the year. King, who was on hand for Saturday's bout, did allow that Vargas might be an attractive opponent for Trinidad because, "if you noticed, he don't fight like Carl Lewis." More likely Vargas exists in this triangle only as a motivational ploy, as in: Of course Vargas is in the picture; do you really believe De La Hoya will get back in the ring with Trinidad?

Well, he almost certainly will -- and Vargas will have to wait his turn for one of these huge-money bouts. What Saturday proved, however, is that he deserves his place in line.

Disciplined and in terrific shape, Vargas (above, right), threw far more punches than Quartey.

Vargas's win positions him for a shot at Trinidad and the big money.

Issue date: April 24, 2000

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