Devin Vargas (born December 25, 1981) is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, he won a bronze medal at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

and competed at the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, both in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division.

Amateur career

Vargas had a stellar amateur career prior to turning professional. Vargas was the

National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion This is a list of United States national Golden Gloves champions in the heavyweight division, along with the state or region they represented. There was originally no weight limit for heavyweights until 1982, when the super heavyweight division wa ...

in 2000 and 2001. In 2003 he stopped

Mike Marrone Michael Marrone (born September 24, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He challenged for the WBA cruiserweight title in 2011. Beginnings and amateur As a child Marrone frequented the gym of the Duva family in Florida. He became close to Lo ...

but was stopped inside the distance by eventual winner Charles Ellis. He became US champion in 2003. In international fights he lost twice to Kertson Manswell in 2003 but beat him in 2004 to qualify for the Olympics. Vargas qualified for the Olympic Games by ending up in first place at the

1st AIBA American 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 1st AIBA American 2004 Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament was held in Tijuana, Mexico from March 12 to March 20, 2004. It was the first chance for amateur boxers from North-, Central- and South America to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

. He competed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens as a heavyweight representing the United States. His results were: *1st round - Defeated Rachid El Haddak (Morocco) RSC-3 (1:20) *2nd round - Lost to

Viktar Zuyev Viktor Valeryevich Zuyev, also spelled sometimes as Viktar Valeryevich Zuyeu ( be, Ві́ктар Вале́р'евіч Зу́еў, Viktar Valeryevich Zuyew, Łacinka: ''Viktar Valierjevič Zujeŭ''; russian: Ви́ктор Вале́рьеви� ...

(Belarus) 27-36

Professional career

Vargas turned professional in 2004. He sustained his first defeat by a ranked opponent,

Kevin Johnson (boxer) Kevin Blue Johnson (born September 7, 1979) is an American professional boxer. He has challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2009. He holds notable wins over former world champions Bruce Seldon and Yoan Pablo Hernández. Amateur caree ...

, in a May 15, 2009 bout. It became clear early in the fight that Vargas was in over his head, being dropped in the 3rd—giving Johnson a massive lead—and again in the 5th round. Bloody and bruised during the latter, Vargas looked like a beaten man, and it was evident that the end was near. The end came with a flurry of combinations unleashed by Johnson early in the 6th round, thus scoring Johnson a TKO; had the fight been left to continue, it would have resulted in knock out. Mercy came when Vargas's corner saw the writing on the wall and, with a toss of a white towel, ended this mismatch, sparing Vargas further injury.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of boxer Dallas Vargas.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Devin 1981 births Living people Boxers from Ohio Olympic boxers for the United States Boxers at the 2003 Pan American Games Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics National Golden Gloves champions Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio American male boxers Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in boxing Heavyweight boxers Bridgerweight boxers Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games