Oscar De La Hoya vs Fernando Vargas

Oscar De La Hoya settled his bitter dispute with Fernando Vargas by stopping him after one minute and 48 seconds of the 11th round at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. De La Hoya added Vargas’s World Boxing Association light-middleweight championship to his own World Boxing Council title and was also recognised by The Ring as champion of the division. Joe Cortez intervened after Vargas, already knocked down by a left hook, was driven into a corner and struck repeatedly without making an adequate reply. Both men weighed exactly 154lb.

A sell-out attendance of 11,425 was divided with unusual firmness between two fighters of Mexican-American heritage whose disagreement had become personal long before contracts were signed. Their match, originally arranged for May, had been postponed after De La Hoya injured his left hand. De La Hoya entered with a record of 34–2 and was guaranteed a purse reported at between $14 million and $15 million. Vargas, six years younger and 22–1, received $6 million before his share of the additional revenue. He had rebuilt with victories over Wilfredo Rivera and Jose Flores after suffering his only defeat in a severe contest with Felix Trinidad.

Vargas began confidently, advancing behind a firm jab and attempting to use his greater physical strength at close quarters. De La Hoya moved lightly around him, looking to score with quick combinations before changing position, but Vargas applied the more purposeful pressure in the first. The second went more clearly to De La Hoya, whose speed allowed him to land the jab and hook while Vargas was still setting his feet. Vargas recovered in the third by crowding his opponent and making the exchanges heavier and less orderly. De La Hoya answered in the fourth, placing his punches with greater economy and refusing to be driven into a purely defensive fight.

The fifth was among Vargas’s strongest rounds. He shortened the distance, worked with both hands and caused blood to flow from De La Hoya’s nose. The younger champion was imposing his strength and seemed increasingly comfortable when the two exchanged at middle range. De La Hoya’s quicker hands still produced the cleaner single blows, but Vargas was forcing him to work hard for every interval of control. The contest remained close enough for the officials to disagree sharply over the succeeding rounds.

De La Hoya adjusted by increasing the use of his jab and stepping around Vargas after punching. Rather than remain directly before the advancing man, he began striking as Vargas came forward and moving away before the reply could be organised. Judges Doug Tucker and Paul Smith awarded De La Hoya both the sixth and seventh rounds, while Patricia Morse Jarman gave each to Vargas. By the seventh a cut had appeared beneath Vargas’s right eye. It was not serious enough to threaten a stoppage, but it provided further evidence that De La Hoya’s accuracy was beginning to have an effect.

The eighth belonged plainly to De La Hoya. His combinations arrived more freely, and the left hook was becoming increasingly important as Vargas pressed forward with diminishing care. Vargas rallied in the ninth, driving De La Hoya backwards and landing enough solid punches to take the round on all three official cards. His success kept the contest unsettled. After nine rounds, Jarman had Vargas leading 88–83, while Tucker and Smith each had De La Hoya ahead by the narrower margin of 86–85.

De La Hoya made the decisive change in the tenth. Vargas continued advancing, but his movements had slowed, and his defence was less compact after punching. De La Hoya struck to the body, drew Vargas’s guard down and landed a hard left hook to the head near the bell. Vargas was visibly shaken. Jarman scored the round even, leaving Vargas ahead 97–94 on her card, while Tucker and Smith awarded it to De La Hoya, increasing their respective leads to 96–94. The contest therefore remained divided officially when the fighters came out for the 11th.

De La Hoya immediately resumed with the left hook. A little more than a minute into the round, he landed it cleanly against Vargas’s jaw and sent him to the canvas. Vargas rose before the completion of the count, but his legs were uncertain, and his guard did not recover its former order. De La Hoya did not waste the opportunity. He followed with punches from both hands, drove Vargas across the ring and trapped him in a neutral corner. Vargas attempted to cover himself but offered little in return as hooks and straight rights passed through and around his defence. Cortez moved between the fighters with Vargas still upright, ending the contest before further punishment became unnecessary.

The stoppage was correctly timed. Vargas had fought with strength and determination, winning several rounds and giving De La Hoya a difficult first half, but he was no longer defending himself effectively when Cortez intervened. De La Hoya had absorbed firm punches, bled from the nose and been forced to make tactical adjustments before his greater speed, accuracy and variety took command. The recorded punch figures showed him landing 281 of 660 blows, against 227 from 525 for Vargas, with both credited at 43 per cent. The similarity in percentages concealed the more important difference: De La Hoya’s cleanest punches arrived when the contest was being decided.

The promotion produced approximately 900,000 pay-per-view purchases and a live gate close to $9 million, placing it among the largest non-heavyweight boxing events of its period. Its aftermath was less satisfactory. Vargas’s post-fight sample tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. He maintained that he had not knowingly taken a prohibited substance but accepted responsibility for what entered his body. The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined him $100,000 and suspended him for nine months. The finding did not alter the official result. De La Hoya had entered a closely balanced contest in the tenth round and settled it conclusively with the left hook which had long been his most dependable weapon.

I loved this fight because the dislike was genuine. De La Hoya was boxing’s polished superstar, while Vargas had built a fierce following by taking difficult fights against Winky Wright, Ike Quartey and Felix Trinidad before he was 24. Vargas believed Oscar had looked down on him, and he carried that resentment into the ring.

Early on, Vargas made his strength count. He pressed Oscar towards the ropes, worked both hands and bloodied his nose. De La Hoya was having to fight rather than perform, and that was exactly what Vargas wanted.

The adjustment was excellent. Oscar began jabbing while moving, stepping off after his combinations and making Vargas reset. Once Vargas tired, his head remained over his front foot after punching. That brought De La Hoya’s left hook into play. The hook at the end of the tenth changed everything; the one in the 11th put Vargas down.

The stoppage was correct because Vargas was finished when Oscar trapped him in the corner. His courage was never doubtful, but De La Hoya proved the better, more complete fighter. Vargas later testing positive for stanozolol made matters worse. Even with that assistance, he could not match Oscar’s timing, discipline or finishing instinct.