Gordon: Vargas continues father’s boxing legacy by starting his own
At 18, Emiliano Fernando Vargas is as debonair as he is determined, inheriting his famous father’s sense of style outside of the boxing ring — and swagger inside of it.
“I want to be known as, excuse my French, a bad (expletive),” says the lightweight prospect, the youngest of two-time 154-pound world champion Fernando Vargas’ three fighting sons. “It’s so deeply embedded in my family. So deeply in my roots as a Mexican as well. … I just want to be the best. Have as many belts as I can. Win as many belts in each division as I can.
“And just make the fans happy.”
Just like his dad did.
With his father in his corner as his trainer Saturday night at the Pearl Theater inside the Palms, the jovial Las Vegan made his local debut, stopping Julio Cesar Martinez with a single short left hook in the second round of their four-round bout and unveiling the potential that prompted Top Rank to sign him to a promotional pact last month.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum proudly watched from his ringside seat.
He once courted the elder Vargas, who boxed professionally from 1997 to 2007 and was enshrined in August in the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
“We didn’t get to sign you,” he told Vargas when Emiliano signed his contact. “But we get to sign your son.”
‘Get what you put in’
And so begins the slow build toward stardom for the younger Vargas (2-0, two knockouts), who sports more than 220,000 followers on Instagram, his account filled with him photographed in snazzy suits like the plaid gray one he wore Thursday to the final promotional news conference.
“All the good and bad that happened in my career serves as experience for him so the same mistakes are not made,” said his father, who was barely 21 when he claimed his first world title. “I’m going to make sure they’re not made.”
Those mistakes, Fernando says, include fighting “the big old monsters right away.” He says he was “a bit of a loose cannon, partying, drinking, being out there with women, just being a little crazy.”
That lifestyle required more money and subsequently fights against — and losses to — all-time greats Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya.
“When you offer a champion a big fight, you think I’m going to say no?” he asks, rhetorically. Thus he’s more “hands on” with Emiliano and older brothers Fernando Jr. and Amado, who learn the sweet science together at their family’s gym in North Las Vegas.
The eldest Vargas didn’t want them to box, but changed his mind when a friend asked him, “Who is going to tell their kids they can’t be like their dad?”
So Fernando Jr. and Amado followed suit. And so too did Emiliano, who grew up in a competitive household and compiled a 110-10 record as an amateur. He attended Legacy High School for two years before enrolling in an online curriculum that allowed him to travel and compete more freely.
“Since a young age, I’ve always understood that you get what you put in, and I’ve seen that from my dad,” he said. “I do love what I do. I truly love what I do.”
A one-punch knockout
And it shows.
When he trains in the gym opposite his father. When he fights the way he did Saturday at the Palms, blending power shots around a snapping jab against an equally inexperienced opponent in Martinez (1-1, one KO) before knocking him out.
Vargas fashions himself as a switch-hitting boxer-puncher with power in both hands who can box and brawl depending on what a fight calls for. He ate a few shots before closing the show, basking in the afterglow atop his father’s shoulders while the crowd stood and applauded his victory.
“That’s what you live for. Especially as entertainers. Especially as fighters. You crave kind of a gladiator moment,” Vargas said. “I’m just here to do it like my daddy did, but with a little bit of my flavor in it. It’s a blessing. It’s an honor. And the legacy definitely does continue.”
Or … it’s just beginning.
Alimkhanuly, Estrada retain titles
In the main event, WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (13-0, eight KOs) secured a 118-110, 116-112, 116-112 decision over Denzel Bentley (17-2, 14 KOs) in the first defense of his title.
Alimkhanuly had knocked out his last six opponents, but England’s Bentley had no issue with his power and established a rhythm to the body in the middle rounds after starting slowly against the 29-year-old from Kazakhstan.
“It’s boxing. Anything can happen in the ring. He came prepared,”Alimkhanuly said through a translator. “I am ready for any champion, for unifications.”
Countryman Gennady Golovkin holds the IBF and WBA middleweight titles, and Jermall Charlo holds the WBC crown.
In the co-feature, WBA minimumweight champion Seniesa Estrada (23-0, nine KOs) ended an 11-month layoff with unanimous 100-90 victory over Jazmin Gala Villarino (6-3, one KO). The 30-year-old applied relentless pressure, connecting on 210 of 580 punches per CompuBox and battering Villarino’s face in the process.
“I shook off the ring rust off.” Estrada said. “I’m ready to go for unification fights and undisputed fights.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.
