Saturday, September 14, 2002, a date that most boxing fans should remember for a long time to come because on this date we were able to truly enjoy, root for or against, two true champions in Oscar "The Golden Boy" de la Hoya and Fernando "El Feroz" Vargas.

These two hombres wanted to square off against each other, the bad blood was for real, it was very legit. Money and other considerations aside, they felt a need to prove who was the best, and they put on quite a show to do exactly that. How refreshing to see top fighters actually FIGHTING! There was no dancing, no running, no low blows, no holding, no head butts. We witnessed a fairly clean fight, which turned out to be all action, a tremendous give and take of corporal punishment... Amazing what some can do when their pride is on the line, isn't it?

Vargas took charge early on, stunning his opponent in the first round. He must have outweighed Oscar by a good 15 pounds on fight night, and he let it be known from the opening bell that his intentions were far from friendly. Didn't he say he'd win or die trying? Try he did, but the savvy East L.A. man and his trainer, the flashy Floyd Mayweather, Sr. had a plan.

Oscar weathered the early storm, had a strong fourth round and turned the tide in the middle rounds. It seemed as though Vargas was done for after being rocked -and I don't mean like a baby- in the 8th round, but Fernando came back strong in the 9th, stalking and giving Oscar de la Hoya his very best.

It was becoming apparent, however, that the Oxnard man was tiring, and becoming less elusive, a combination which spelled doom for him when in the 11th round Oscar de la Hoya connected a mean spirited left that sent Vargas to the canvas hurt and dazed. Vargas did get up, but was cornered by a blood-thirsty Oscar de la Hoya, receiving 16 unanswered blows to the head before Cortez decided to be firm and put an end to the merciless beat down.

Fernando Vargas' jaw might be suspect, but his heart certainly isn't. Perhaps don Félix Trinidad, Sr. said it best when he told us back in May 2001 that "they threw him at Tito, and they damaged him.. They sacrificed an extraordinary fighter like Fernando Vargas, hoping that he could be the fighter that would beat Tito."

Oscar de la Hoya proved himself to be a great champion. He put on a boxing exhibition that few of us will ever forget. For the skeptics who have questioned the Golden One's desire to be top dog in his division, please put all skepticism aside. After being stunned in the opening stanza, and challenged like he never had before, Oscar dug deep and totally dominated Fernando Vargas. It was ugly, it was macho, it was necessary I suppose. Trash talking usually brings about this type of outcome and now the world knows who is the best Mexican-Californian 154 pounder in the world.

Thank you Fernando, thank you Oscar, you gave us more than our money's worth, which is a lot more than can be said of some of the other self-appointed divas of the sport.

P.S. Why was George Foreman belittling Floyd Mayweather, Sr. throughout the course of the fight?

MEMORABLE QUOTES:

When asked by Larry Merchant what his victory meant to him, a very candid Nate Campbell said: "Means I have some money..."

George Foreman on the main event: "When you get in the ring with a good looking guy like Oscar you have to make sure he's not your buddy..." (Huh?)

Miguel Cotto during his post fight interview with Larry Merchant: "No todo el tiempo se puede noquear". Translation: "Can't knock out all the time."

Pre-fight Fernando Vargas: "The animosity is real and after I beat him, I'll remind him of why I feel the way I do."

Post-fight Oscar de la Hoya: "I didn't really want to fight him but all the talk got under my skin..." His Goldiness added that after the decision was announced "he (Vargas) just left, I thought he would shake my hand but he just left..."

CLOSING THOUGHT

Félix Trinidad Sr., on Fernando Vargas: (May 2001)

"...Every time they asked me what is it that bothers me the most about Vargas, I always said "his ignorance." Because ignorance is daring and when a person ignores that there are consequences, it can prove to be a mistake."