The Gloves Come Off

LAS VEGAS —  With absolutely no due respect to Floyd Mayweather Sr....

Vargas is a warrior; his head looks like he mows it.

De La Hoya is a warrior like his trainer is a poet

Vargas wore a bracelet, a gift from the police.

De La Hoya wears jewelry that looks good on your niece.

Vargas has begged for this fight since he was first dissed.

De La Hoya backed out once with a boo-boo on his wrist.

De La Hoya is fighting for money, Vargas is fighting for home.

The Golden Boy will be knocked back on his golden arches, and land flat on his golden dome.

What everyone says, it’s true.

In tonight’s junior-middleweight title fight between Fernando Vargas and Oscar De La Hoya, one guy will be overwhelmed by the stage.

One guy will panic under the pressure.

One guy will turn into a dumb puncher.

One guy will charge early, stagger late and finish cold.

But what everyone thinks, it’s wrong.

That guy will not be Vargas.

It will be De La Hoya, who doesn’t want to wear the gloves any more than we want to see him crooning love songs and wearing fishnet.

De La Hoya, a 2-to-1 favorite, is supposedly a much better pure boxer.

Well, yeah, he was.

But this is the first time in his life he has waited 16 months between fights.

This is the first time he will be fighting after two injuries and one surgery to his important left wrist.

This is the first time he has fought a 154-pounder who did not have “Heinz” written on his shirt.

That’s a lot of firsts for a guy who some thought had already fought his last.

When De La Hoya backed out of the fight last spring because of wrist problems, the boxing world was buzzing with talk that he retired. He was happily married, living mostly in Puerto Rico, avoiding all memories of his jarring losses to Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosley.

He was playing golf so much that, upon visiting his Big Bear training camp last month, I stumbled over balls nestled in his front lawn.

He had become so out of touch with the demands of his profession that, during the middle of a question about his workouts, he leaned back on his plush couch and shook his head.

“This is really, really hard,” he said. “I forgot how hard this was.”

Walking from that lifestyle into a ring with Fernando Vargas is like stepping from the Mandalay Bay into the Mojave.

During a sandstorm. Surrounded by snakes. With orders to jog 10 miles.

The notion held by those who have seen only Vargas’ biggest fight is that he can’t box.

It is understandable, but it is wrong.

Indeed, Vargas became caught up in the carnival and fought the worst fight possible against Trinidad, sacrificing himself at the altar of his machismo.

But he has learned.

Surrounded by other hardscrabble types, living in a cluttered bedroom with sheets on the floor and a “Scarface” poster on the wall, he has spent the last couple of months in his Big Bear training camp remembering.

He was a terrific boxer when he knocked out champion Yory Boy Campas in seven rounds. He was splendid when he won a decision over Ike Quartey.

And he was even better against Raul Marquez.

You remember Raul Marquez. He was an Olympic teammate of De La Hoya, a close friend who later worked in his gym.

Because of this close association, Vargas hated Marquez nearly as much as he hates De La Hoya. He loathed his attitude. He pined for his respect.

Once they got into the ring, he finally did something about it, pounding Marquez around the ropes until finishing him with an 11th-round knockout.

That was three years ago. The pounding by Trinidad has ensured that Vargas is not the same fighter. He does not have the same chin. He might not have the same stamina.

But he has the ability, the same style and, more important, the same will.

De La Hoya will be fighting for a paycheck.

Vargas will be fighting for respect.

De La Hoya doesn’t need this.

Vargas, who said he is willing to die in the ring, cannot live without it.

They both say they are fighting for the hearts of Los Angeles.

But only one of them really lives there anymore.

Ignore the hype. Bet the heart.

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After Vargas knocks out De La Hoya in the 11th round, Bill Plaschke can be reached for congratulations at [email protected].