Behind The Fight: 20 Years Later — Felix Trinidad vs. Fernando Vargas
Boxing is the ultimate form of sports theater. The most memorable bouts are those that told the best story — a fight whose impact goes beyond the squared circle, leaving a lasting impression for years to come.
20-years ago, on December 02, 2000, the storied history between Mexico and Puerto Rico added another chapter to its legacy.
Puerto Rico’s Felix Trinidad (42–3, 35 KOs) was in the middle of the best run of his career when he faced 22-year old Fernando Vargas (26–5, 22 KOs).
After years of not being able to get significant fights at Welterweight while holding the IBF Welterweight title, including a bid to fight Terry Norris at 154 pounds in 1997 that resulted in a lawsuit with promoter Don King in 1998 that the Puerto Rican ultimately lost, he was finally given fights against big names in 1999.
Trinidad would hand an older Pernell Whitaker the first clear defeat of his career in February 1999 at Madison Square Garden. He followed up with one of the most anticipated fights in boxing history against Oscar De La Hoya in September 1999.
A fight that had all the makings of being something extraordinary with two men in their primes, each at 26, both experienced champions, both power punchers, and add in the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry, and you had the recipe for something truly special.
Unfortunately, Trinidad-De La Hoya was better on paper than in the actual ring as fans got a subpar fight and a controversial ending with Trinidad walking away with the majority decision victory.
Financially the bout did exceptionally well, setting a then non-heavyweight pay-per-view record of 1.4 million buys.
Exiting the Welterweight division, Trinidad left with a total of 15 title defenses and the distinction of being the longest-reigning Welterweight champion in history at six years, eight months, and 14 days.
Trinidad would move up to Junior Middleweight in March 2000, where he would challenge WBA champion David Reid and, despite getting knocked down, would go one to score several knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Trinidad now had three wins over former Olympic gold medalists in Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya, and David Reid.
After one title defense against Mamadou Thiam in the summer of 2000, where Trinidad scored a third-round stoppage, he was ready to head into a unification bout with one of his fellow Junior Middleweight champions.
After an extensive amateur career and representing the United States at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Fernando Vargas started his professional career scoring 14 straight stoppages before facing Yory Boy Campas for the IBF Junior Middleweight title in December 1998.
Vargas would stop Campas after the veteran quit in his corner, proceeding seven one-sided rounds. At the time, Vargas was the youngest Junior Middleweight champion in history at 21.
The young Vargas would step up his level of competition at the end of 1999 when he faced Saint Petersburg, Florida’s Ronald “Winky” Wright winning a close and controversial majority decision.
In April 2000, Vargas participated in one of the best fights of the year and arguably the finest performance of his career when he outboxed and outfought former Welterweight champion Ike Quartey to a unanimous decision victory.
Vargas would make one more defense of his title, scoring a fourth-round TKO over Ross Thompson before heading into a unification bout with Trinidad.
At such a young age, Vargas was the template for young fighters who want to challenge themselves. Boxing is a young man’s game, and experience is only gained by action, not waiting.
Vargas made five defenses of his IBF title before facing Trinidad.
Trinidad-Vargas would be broadcast by HBO’s TVKO pay-per-view as a joint promotion with Don King and Main Events. In a year filled with all-time great fights such as the first fight in the Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales trilogy and Oscar De La Hoya’s sensational fight with Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Trinidad-Vargas would close the year providing fans with another memorable night.
Heading into the fight with Vargas, Trinidad (27) was 18–0 with 14 knockouts in world title fights, almost equaling Vargas’ career record of 20–0 with 18 knockouts.
The experience gap was apparent, and Trinidad was mostly dismissive of Vargas throughout the fight’s promotion, referring to him as a baby. Although Vargas was five years younger and the slight underdog, there was a growing contingent of support for the young Mexican as the fight drew closer.
Vargas’ performances against Yory Boy Campas, Raul Marquez, Ronald Wright, and Ike Quartey showed a fighter who possessed the physical and mental capacity to handle a tough fight and the intelligence to box and move when needed.
During HBO’s broadcast of the fight, former HBO commentator and Heavyweight world champion George Foreman let it be known whom he was favoring in the main event.
“Vargas got the package; if you want to write how to beat Felix Trinidad, Vargas got the package,” Foreman stated to HBO’s Jim Lampley when asked how Vargas would do against Trinidad. “It’s his fight to lose.”
Vargas took Trinidad’s taunting him as a baby to heart and vowed to make the Puerto Rican pay for his comments.
“He’s going to eat up every single word right now,” Vargas said to HBO’s Nick Charles in a backstage interview before the fight. “You’re going to see a very determined Fernando Vargas. A very powerful and quick Fernando Vargas, and I’m here to win.
“You’re going to see explosions. That’s what you’re going to see. I feel ready to give everything and anything that’s necessary to come home with two belts tonight. We’re ready right now to give Felix Trinidad something he’s never had in his life. And I’m going to show him how a real man gets down.”
Trinidad, for his part, didn’t have many quotes for the press, as his insistence to strictly speak in Spanish was both endearing and possibly detrimental to his crossover appeal.
However, with a record of 38–0 with 31 Knockouts, the Puerto Rican was not impacted by any lack of coverage from the American press; he had plans beyond Vargas that included moving up to Middleweight to face William Joppy and then a move to Super Middleweight to challenge Roy Jones Jr.
Needless to say, Trinidad and Vargas were two fighters that had grand aspirations to be considered one of the best in the world.
Similar to today’s climate in 2020, where the pound-for-pound debate is a round-robin between Saul Alvarez, Terence Crawford, and Naoya Inoue, in 2000, Shane Mosley, Roy Jones Jr., and Felix Trinidad all had legitimate claims to be rated as the number one fighter pound-for-pound.
While HBO is no longer in the business of boxing as of the end of 2018, in 2000, HBO was the biggest platform in the sport, showcasing the best fighters in the world.
HBO’s presentation was always top-notch; however, there was always criticism of their commentary that seemed to favor fighters that strictly fought on their television network.
The criticism was warranted at times; however, there is no denying that HBO’s team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, Harold Lederman and their rotating cast of professional boxers on commentary such as Roy Jones Jr., Lennox Lewis, and George Foreman could elevate fights to a higher plateau by adding passion, emotion, and elements of storytelling.
HBO’s commentary for Trinidad-Vargas was one of the best the network ever produced, making the fight feel epic and vital to that time’s boxing landscape.
Before the first bell rang at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, HBO’s Larry Merchant set the stage for the main event.
“Those picking Trinidad are going with the logic of a sensational performer with an impeccable record,” Merchant stated. “Those picking Vargas are going with a gut feeling about his toughness and a young man with the look of a champion.”
Throughout his career, Trinidad had been knocked down six times in the early rounds. The logical thinking was that if anybody were going to get knocked down in the early stages of the fight, it would be the Puerto Rican, not Vargas, who up to that point had never tasted the canvas as a professional.
There are expectations and then reality. In the first minute of round one, reality hit Vargas with a left hook.
Trinidad was often labeled as a one-dimensional fighter; however, that criticism downplayed his textbook delivery of all his punches, the quickness of his punches, and most importantly, his timing.
The Puerto Rican slipped a jab and countered with a perfect left hook on the chin that visibly stunned Vargas. The young fighter would go down after a barrage of punches from Trinidad and immediately got up. He seemed surprised to be caught with such force so early in the fight.
Vargas would go down again from another left hook from Trinidad almost immediately afterward, putting him against a vast amount of adversity in just the first minute of the first round.
Vargas would survive the first round, but his troubles would continue in round two as every punch Trinidad landed moved Vargas.
The best fights have ebb and flow with momentum shifts.
In the third round, the fight changed in favor of the younger fighter.
Vargas, while still reeling from the knockdowns in the first round, was able to use upper body movement to avoid getting hit with more damaging punches.
Vargas then began to use his jab more and landed one with the edge of his glove that immediately caused a reaction from the Puerto Rican. Trinidad’s right eye began to swell, and the younger fighter took advantage by pouncing on the more experienced fighter.
During an exchange, Trinidad hit Vargas with a low blow that halted the younger fighter immediately. A point wasn’t taken away from Trinidad by referee Jay Nady; however, the tide had shifted in the bout’s momentum.
Even when Trinidad was behind, he always remained dangerous and accurate. He was able to land 19 out of 29 punches at a 66 percent connect rate in the third round, one he clearly lost.
The fourth round would prove to be the most significant for Vargas, who was able to knock down Trinidad with a left hook that put the Puerto Rican on the canvas.
Trinidad rose from the ground quickly and looked prepared for the Mexican’s oncoming onslaught. Either in an attempt to buy more time to recover or an accident during the heat of battle, Trinidad once again hit Vargas low.
This time referee Jay Nady took a point away from Trinidad, giving Vargas a 10–7 round on the judges’ scorecards to even out the first round where he went down twice.
Following the low blow, Vargas didn’t rush Trinidad, but instead fought from a distance using lateral movement to position himself out of the way of the Puerto Rican’s attacks to land counters of his own.
The fifth round was Vargas’ most dominant. He seemed to figure out Trinidad winning the round by a large margin.
In the corner of Trinidad, you could hear his trainer and father, Felix Trinidad, Sr. castigating his son and giving him a few slaps to the face for good measure.
The sixth round was fought on relatively even terms, with both pugilists having their moments.
After six rounds, HBO’s Harold Lederman had the bout even at 55–55.
In the seventh round, the fight again had a momentum shift as Trinidad began the round, landing clean right hands that visibly shook Vargas.
Once again, during an exchange, Trinidad hit Vargas with another low blow, although not as detrimental as those in the third and fourth rounds. This blow came at a time when Trinidad had the advantage, so it seemed unlikely that this one was done on purpose.
Regardless, referee Jay Nady after a minute of pondering, decided to deduct a point from Trinidad, making it an even round on the judge’s scorecards. While the round was scored even, it was clear that Trinidad’s pressure was becoming more and more effective as the rounds proceeded.
In the seventh round, Trinidad landed 22 out of 37 total punches at a 59 percent connect rate, highlighting the 27-year olds accuracy in the second half of the fight.
The eighth and ninth rounds were extremely close rounds that could have been scored for either man. In the ninth round, both men landed the same amount of punches (32), with Vargas refusing to give any ground to Trinidad.
“This was Vargas’ promise,” HBO’s Jim Lampley lamented. “I’m not going to back away. I’m not the kind of fighter who runs. I’ll stand with him. I’ll trade with him.”
As the rounds went by, it became clear that Trinidad, who frequently ran marathons as a hobby, was starting to gain more leverage while a piece of Vargas was left behind in each round.
The pressure in which Trinidad applied to his opponents was only rivaled by the pressure of being a fighter that fought with the weight of his country on his back.
“The relentless of Felix Trinidad, coming and coming, firing with both hands,” stated Jim Lampley. “Power shot. Power shot. Power shot. Try to stay away from me. I’m coming forward. That’s Felix Trinidad.
“The one thing he does, he does with passion, commitment, pride, and absolute determination all the time. Try to match my will. That’s what Felix Trinidad says to his opponents. And he’s been saying that to Vargas down the stretch of this fight.”
Heading into the 12th and final round, it was evident that both men needed to make a statement to put a definitive stamp on the match.
Reminiscent of the first round, Trinidad landed a beautiful left hook that put Vargas down, and the fight looked to be over. Vargas would somehow manage to get up only to be put down again from what looked like a grazing shot.
The fight should have been stopped. Referee Jay Nady allowed Vargas to continue despite seeming unresponsive to his commands.
One right hand later, and the fight was finally over. It was stopped at the 1:33 mark of the 12th round.
According to Compubox, Trinidad landed 241 out of 484 total punches at an impressive 50 percent connect rate.
Looking back, it’s easy to say that Vargas may have been too young to face a fighter like Trinidad. However, there are numerous examples of fighters at a young age who took on Hall-of-Fame caliber fighters such as Salvador Sanchez, Wilfred Benitez, and Ray Leonard.
Even Trinidad won his first world title in 1993 at 20 years of age, and his career was nearly over before he was 30.
Vargas was an elite young fighter who hit his peak at an early stage.
When you challenge yourself, you run the risk of losing. As a fighter, those risks are inherited, and regret is not part of the mindset.
“I gave everything in that fight,” Vargas said to The Ring Magazine. “I gave everything in every fight. Should I have waited? Yeah. But I’m a champion, too. I’d been fighting the best, so that’s what I did, and I left everything in the ring that night.
“I could have died, but I would have died a proud man, never giving up, never quitting. That’s what champions do.”
Trinidad-Vargas is arguably the greatest Junior Middleweight bout in the history of the sport.
When the bout came to a close, Larry Merchant summarized the fight perfectly.
“He closes the show like the champion he is. What a fight.”
What a fight it was indeed.