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August 22, 2004 5:54 pm

Vargas' medal quest goes unfulfilled

By KEVIN TRESOLINI

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece — Beads of perspiration that trickled down Devin Vargas' flushed, puffy cheeks mixed with tears Sunday night, a vivid indication that his dream of an Olympic boxing medal had gone unfulfilled.

The United States' heavyweight was outpointed 36-27 in his quarterfinal match against Belarus' Viktar Zuyev, who took charge in the third round of the four-round bout.

Vargas, a 22-year-old Toledo, Ohio, resident, trailed by two points at the end of the first and second rounds at the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall.

But the 21-year-old Zuyev, who was third in the 2003 world championships, found new energy in the third round, when he outscored Vargas 12-6 in the amateur scoring system that rewards the fighter who strikes the most blows. All Vargas could really do in the fourth was go for the knockout, an attempt that proved futile.

A victory Sunday would have assured Vargas at least a bronze medal. He was hoping to become the first U.S. Olympic champion at heavyweight since Ray Mercer in 1988.

Vargas was bothered by a sprained left knee, on which he wore a brace. In the first round, the knee buckled slightly as he was attempting to slide back, and he rolled his ankle.

"I couldn't bounce on my toes like I wanted to," said Vargas, who began sobbing as he described the injury's effect. "After that, the coaches told me to go forward, and I hadn't really practiced that during the camp. I knew if I bounced on my legs and boxed I could have got the gold here."

He said he aggravated the injured knee by stepping in a hole during a pre-Olympic barbecue at the U.S. embassy.

"It's just unfortunate," he said. "It wasn't in God's plan for me to get a medal. I gave it 110 percent, but there's only so much I can do with one knee."

Both fighters came out with a flurry of punches. Zuyev stumbled in the second round when Vargas got him beneath the left eye with his right hand. But Vargas walked into a Zuyev's right hand, then absorbed a couple lefts soon after. It was still close entering the third round, when Zuyev became a different fighter.

"That surprised us," U.S. coach Basheer Abdullah said. "He hadn't shown that before. He got pumped up because he was fighting the U.S."

Vargas couldn't match Zuyev's third-round zest.

"I thought he was going to die," Vargas said of his thoughts after the second round. "He looked weaker in the beginning rounds. That's why I kept pressing him. I thought he was going to die out. He didn't, and he knew how to score his points.

"All those shots he landed, I didn't feel any of them. I was just hoping to land a hard one so he would go down. I knew I had to either knock him out or get him disqualified by holding me."

Vargas won his first boxing title in the Ohio Junior Olympics five days after his eighth birthday as a 69-pounder. More recently, he has been a Junior Olympics, U.S. National, Golden Gloves and Pan Am Games champion.

Now a pro career beckons.

"I'm definitely going to go pro," he said. "My son, Bishop, is two years old, and I have another on the way. I'd love to stick around, but we just don't make the right money (in amateur boxing) to support a family, so I really need to start working for my family now.

"I came here and gave it my best shot. Hopefully, my son can come here and get the gold."

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