Rest, restoring order in future for Vargas

Dean Juipe

Monday, Sept. 16, 2002 | 8:55 a.m.

Tears were streaming down the little boy's face, who sobbed despite being held and comforted by a close friend. Nearby, his older brother was holding up as best he could under the trying circumstances.

Their father, Fernando Vargas, had just lost an emotional fight with Oscar De La Hoya and he, too, would leave the ring Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center with a fixed expression of sorrow.

Within eyesight were several others who consider themselves part of the Vargas extended family, and without fail they sat or stood in collective mourning. An unidentified woman simply bowed her head on the chair in front of her and wept.

To the victor go the spoils, of course, while the loser in such scenarios contends with pain and heartbreak. The difficult loss wasn't made any easier a few minutes later when a member of Vargas' staff, nutritionist John Philbin, announced he had quit the team in protest of training decisions made against his counsel.

"I would have done some things different," Philbin said of Vargas' preparations, second-guessing the emphasis that was put on muscle tone and lifting weights.

In fact, as he exited the media center following the fight, Philbin called Vargas a "God damn bodybuilder" and suggested that now that he has quit "it gives Fernando an excuse: He can say he didn't fight De La Hoya right because he wasn't prepared properly."

Vargas wasn't around to hear such comments, as he had been taken to Valley Hospital where he received a CAT scan.

"He's OK," said Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist associated with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "We just had him go in as a precaution because he'd taken so much punishment in the ring."

Vargas was ahead on one of the judges' cards when the fight was stopped 1:48 into the 11th round with De La Hoya having trapped his 24-year-old rival in a corner.

"He was in a concussive mode," said referee Joe Cortez, explaining his decision to stop the fight. "I was 10 inches from his eyes and I could see he was in trouble.

"The fight didn't need to go any further."

As for whether Vargas needs to go any further, his management team seems assured that he will.

"He'll take a good, long rest," said co-manager Rolando Arellano, "and then we'll see what's available."

A rematch could be in Vargas' future, albeit not a rematch with De La Hoya. International Boxing Federation 154-pound champion Winky Wright lost by majority decision to Vargas in 1999 and has been angling for a high-profile fight, which would be the case if a second fight with Vargas were to materialize.

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