More bad blood as Vargas, Mayorga prepare for Friday's fight
County's most famous boxer set for career finale
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

STEPHEN DORMAN/Acorn Newspapers DO YOU WANT SOME?- Fernando Vargas has a few words for Ricardo Mayorga Monday at Staples Center.

Twotime world boxing champion Fernando Vargas wants to spend his holiday weekend knocking the stuffing out of Ricardo Mayorga.

Mayorga, the three-time world title holder who first made a name for himself brawling in the ghetto streets of Nicaragua, will be looking to return the holiday greeting- with an exclamation point.

As expected, there was no love lost between the two fighters during Monday's prefight press conference at Staples Center.

The made-for-TV event was held in preparation for Friday night's $44.95 pay-per-view showdown at the same venue where Vargas, the 29-year-old Oxnard native who's made training stops in Camarillo and Westlake during his career, says he'll fight for the final time.

Originally scheduled for Sept. 8, the fight had to be postponed when Vargas was diagnosed with anemia, an iron deficiency. He's since been cleared to enter the ring, and the bout will go off at a catch weight of 166 pounds, up from the 162-pound weight class the fighters agreed to before July's press-conference melee.

Through his interpreter, Mayorga (27-6-1, 22 KOs) fired the first shot at Vargas (26-4, 22 KOs) on Monday when Vargas went backstage just before the Central American took to the microphone.

"Vargas already started running, but halfway down to his car they reminded him that he still has to come back to the press conference," said Mayorga, 34, adding that he'd already bet $1 million on a knockout.

"If he stands to fight like true Mexican warriors do, I'll knock him out in two rounds. If he wants to run a little bit, it'll be four rounds."

The two fighters came to fisticuffs during a July press conference in Los Angeles, where Vargas bloodied Mayorga's face with a pair of left uppercuts.

This time the rivals were separated by a stage with a 1inchthick Plexiglas divide. (Of course, the Plexiglas was easily avoidable by simply going around the barricade, but neither man chose that route, opting instead to try and break it down.)

As Mayorga continued to verbally assault Vargas about his weight, Vargas, who on Dec. 12, 1998 became the youngest junior middleweight champion in boxing history, removed his shirt- to the delight of several in the small crowd- and charged toward the stage.

Mayorga ripped his shirt off, too, and soon the two men were saying horrible things toward one another and pounding on the Plexiglas in a fit of rage.

After both camps finally settled things down a bit, Vargas told the crowd he was feeling great and was hungry for a victory in his farewell fight.

"First we'll have Thanksgiving dinner, and then I'll put down this cat," said Vargas, whose last victory was against Javier Castillejo in Aug. 2005. Vargas lost to Shane Mosley twice in 2006 and hasn't fought since.

"I feel strong, and I'm ready," Vargas said. "I'm going to be able to take the heat. I've been working too hard, and I know he knows that. The eyes never lie, and you could see it in his eyes."

In his dressing room afterward, a more subdued Vargas reflected on a resume that includes a 100-5 record as an amateur, a record-tying 17 consecutive knockouts to begin his professional career, as well as epic title bouts against Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Yory Boy Campas and Winky Wright.

"I'm humbled by everything God has blessed me with," Vargas said. "I'm really going to soak it in when I'm in the ring; you know what I mean, mentally.

"I know it will be my last (bout), at least as a fighter stepping into the ring going up against someone else. I probably will walk in with another fighter, but I won't be fighting."

The man they call "El Feroz" recently started his own boxing company, Vargas Entertainment Promotions, to go with the litany of other business interests he's involved in, including the nonprofit Ferocious Foundation for Kids.

Vargas admitted that the selfpromotion involved in today's boxing can be tiresome. He said he was looking forward to perusing the business side of the sport.

"It's a necessary evil," said Vargas, who also has a budding acting career underway. "I enjoyed (promoting) when I was first coming up, but then it got a little old for me. It's all the same thing- all the same questions, just asked a little differently."

When he steps into the ring Friday against an opponent known for his tenacious, neversay-die approach, Vargas realizes he won't be alone.

A heavy pro-Vargas crowd is expected at Staples Center. Vargas said his fans are the most fervent in the sport, and they will be a major source of inspiration against Mayorga.

"They feel me as much as I feel them," Vargas said. "Real recognizes real. They're proud. You could say they're all like me; they are crazy sometimes. They're fanatical like that, and I'm just humbled that they love me like that."