Emiliano Vargas honors his father but hopes to carve his own path

Just like his father, Emiliano Vargas has made a steady rise at a relatively young age – but Vargas, the son, perhaps seeking to avoid the mistakes of the father, wants to avoid burning out quickly.

Emiliano, 20, became attracted to boxing at age 10 after training at the Las Vegas gym owned by his father, former two-time junior middleweight titleholder Fernando Vargas. That decision could soon become the best of Emiliano’s young life.

“My father opened up a gym here in Las Vegas,” Emiliano told BoxingScene. “I’ve always been around it, so I started training there and I had my first sparring, made the kid bleed and I fell in love with boxing. I was like, ‘I like this.’

“Then I had my first amateur fight and national championship. From there, I kept on falling in love with boxing and I’m glad to be with the best promotional company in the world.”

Emiliano, a junior welterweight, turned pro in May 2022 under the Top Rank banner, and the native of Oxnard, California has yet to experience defeat. In 2024 alone he has defeated Nelson Hampton, Angel Varela Urena, Jose Zaragoza, and on Sept. 20 he is scheduled to face Ireland’s Larry Fryers on an ESPN telecast from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The fight is scheduled for the undercard of Jaime Munguia’s super middleweight contest with Erik Bazinyan. Emiliano (11-0, 9 KOs) is of the opinion that Fryers (13-6-1, 5 KOs) is an opponent who can give him a test.

“I’m ready to go on September 20 versus Larry Fryers,” Vargas said. “He’s gonna get fried, for sure. I think he has 17 or 18 fights, and he faced Xander Zayas. He’s definitely a tough, rough Irish fighter. He’s fought eight [and], I think, 10 rounds as well, and he definitely goes the distance. 

“So Top Rank is putting him in there to give me a test, and I’ll make sure it’s one of my easiest types of tests. I know he’s fought Xander. I know he’s definitely fought some great fighters. So I’m looking to get in the ring with him and make it a show.”

Although he isn’t trying to emulate his father, Emiliano admitted that his father’s career has had a significant influence on him and his brothers.

Fernando was one of the best of his era in the 154-pound division, which, at the time, featured the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Ronald “Winky” Wright and Ike Quartey. The hard-hitting Fernando fought all the best fighters of his generation, losing to De La Hoya and Trinidad but besting Wright and Quartey.

After retiring in 2007, Fernando took up the training of his sons, Fernando Jr., Amado and Emiliano. On Sept. 20, Fernando is expected to lead Emiliano into the ring against Fryer, and the latter believes that offers him the needed motivation to triumph.

“It’s a blessing. It’s definitely a blessing,” said Emiliano. “There’s a lot of experience that comes with having your dad in your corner. “There’s definitely a lot of advice that comes from that, as well as good and bad. I’m going to take all the good and the bad of my dad’s career. He’s part of the corner as well, and he’s worked with so many great fighters. I’m super-excited.

“I didn’t really get to see my dad’s career too much, but just all the stories and everything like that and being around it really helped me. I mean, there’s always going to be pressure, regardless. People are always gonna talk. Personally, it’s something that I live with, and I don’t really care anymore.

“I’m going to continue to do me. I’ll continue to win and shine like the star I know God blessed me to be. And I’ll walk in his favor. So at the end of the day, I’m gonna continue to shine.”

Emiliano is focused on finishing the year on a bright note, with at least two more fights. He believes his career is on the right track and can’t wait to showcase his talent against Fryers. The goal: to capture world title belts – plural.

“I’m looking to stay busy with two or three more fights this year and just continue to win,” he said. “As a prospect, I’ve had the most views, and sometimes the numbers are even more than the main event. I don’t think another prospect has done that. So I’m looking to do it again on ESPN, live.

“I’m super-excited, and come September 20, there’s gonna be another big show in Glendale, Arizona. I know I’m a great fighter and I can become multiple world champion and all the rest. Time definitely will tell, and we’ll see how many world titles we pick up.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].