Vargas cruises into boxing quarterfinals

By KEVIN TRESOLINI

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - The hard part was getting here for Devin Vargas, who survived boxing's grueling Olympic qualifying process to become the American heavyweight.

The easy part came Wednesday, when Vargas dominated Morocco's Rachid El Haddak in their first-round Olympic bout.

It's nothing but hard from here on out, as the competition gets stiffer. But Wednesday was a welcome indoctrination for Vargas, a Toledo, Ohio resident who felt more contentment than aches or pains from his long-awaited Olympic debut.

"I was a little nervous in the walkway before the curtain opened," Vargas said. "Then I started bouncing around. I told my coach it sort of feels like I'm about to go up a roller coaster. You're sitting there waiting at the bottom. I started yelling 'Yeah!'

" I'm trying to have a good time. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for USA boxing, since I'll probably go pro after this. I'm trying to enjoy this and have fun. I'm already a champion - I'm here, top 16 in the world. This is all about having fun."

Vargas' match at the Peristeri Boxing Hall was stopped in the third round after he'd built a 20-point lead (27-7), so now he's top eight.

"I think I'm peaking at the right time," Vargas said. "My legs felt good. I could have had a little bit more bounce, but I'm saving that for my opponents to come."

Next is Belarus' Viktar Zuyev in Sunday night's 201-pound quarterfinals. Zuyev had a 7-2 lead when Italy's Daniel Betti pulled out with an injury with 1:15 left in the first round of their bout.

"This was a good win for him,'' U.S. coach Basheer Abdullah said of Vargas. "It was a bout we felt he should win. If he keeps fighting like that, he'll do well here. He showed he could box."

As is his mix-it-up style, Vargas came out swinging, connecting with a couple early lefts. But Abdullah urged him to be patient.

"He (El Haddak) looked a little nervous, a little scared," Vargas said. "The way he was shadow boxing, he kind of looked like a novice, so they wanted me to go out there and give him a little jolt.

"He caught me with a shot a couple times. I heard the coaches say, 'Calm down!' I had to back up and take a deep breath, and I was good."

Vargas, 22, has been eyeing the Summer Games ever since he won an Ohio Junior Olympics title five days after his eighth birthday as a 69-pounder. With Junior Olympics, U.S. National, Golden Gloves and Pan Am Games titles to his credit already, he'll stay in pursuit of the ultimate prize here.

But he won't change his style, which combines finesse with force.

"I've 20-pointed a lot of international opponents because I let my hands go a lot easier," said the 6-foot-2 Vargas. "A lot of these heavyweights just worry about their power. I know I've got decent power, but I'll save that until somebody gets on me and I need to get them off."