Two of boxing’s top attractions, at least in terms of loyal fan turnout, took what could be career-ending beatings this month.
Fernando Vargas and Arturo Gatti fell, but not for lack of heart.
They risked stepping back into the same danger zone where they had fallen before. They made those risky returns in hopes of changing previous outcomes.
But they could not.
Vargas and his supporters have clung to visions of him regaining the super powers that brought him victories over such formidable opponents as Raul Marquez, Winky Wright and Ike Quartey by the time he was 22.
But if Vargas, now 28, was thereby compared to Superman, his kryptonite has been left hooks.
Like baseball prospects done in because they couldn’t hit a curveball, Vargas could not avoid getting hit by the good left hook. And he ran into three opponents who floored him with great ones.
Shane Mosley explained that when he caught Vargas flush in the face with his left in the sixth round July 15, he envisioned Oscar De La Hoya’s similarly devastating hook in 2002.
Two years before that, Felix Trinidad stunned Vargas and dropped him four times with pinpoint left hooks to the head before finishing him with a right in the final round, snapping Vargas’ 20-bout unbeaten streak.
And then there’s Gatti, knocked out Saturday by Carlos Baldomir.
Gatti’s previous rallies to snatch victory from the brink of defeat made him the people’s choice at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, where he fought his last eight bouts before huge crowds. The fans were there again Saturday. But all hopes for a comeback against Baldomir were futile.
The bane of Gatti’s career? He’s too slow to beat the elite at 140 pounds and not strong enough to beat the best at 147. Floyd Mayweather Jr., at 140, embarrassed Gatti with his speed when they fought last summer. And when Gatti moved up to 147, he was overpowered by De La Hoya in 2001 and by Baldomir last week.
Retirement is a harsh prospect for boxers, especially after a knockout loss. Gatti acknowledged he would have to consider the possibility.
Baldomir, he said ruefully, “trained for me. He really boxed well tonight.”
Vargas still seemed in denial about his skills eroding. Though all three judges gave every round to Mosley, Vargas said, “I thought it was slowly going my way.”
Who’s next?
Two fighters who flashed brilliance en route to winning titles but could not sustain that early success are risking their comebacks against each other.
Former welterweight champions Vernon Forrest and Quartey will square off Aug. 5 in a Madison Square Garden showdown.
Forrest peaked in 2002, when he knocked off the previously unbeaten Mosley twice. But the tables were turned the next year when Forrest lost twice to quirky Ricardo Mayorga.
Quartey, meanwhile, lost to De La Hoya in 1999 and to Vargas in 2000.
On the Forrest-Quartey undercard, 154-pound junior middleweight prospect Sechew Powell, unbeaten in 20 bouts since turning pro four years ago, will take his biggest step to date, facing talented former title-holder Kassim Ouma.
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mhirsley@tribune.com
