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Star Boxing had a chance to sit down for an exclusive interview with 2004 Olympic Team Captain and now hot heavyweight prospect Devin Vargas. In this interview Vargas talks about his first round annihilation over tough Dave Brunelli, the heavyweight division now and where he feels he falls in the mix.
Star Boxing: Devin, how’s it going?
Devin Vargas: It’s going really good. I feel real good and am very anxious to fight again. After my fight I took a week off and got right back in the gym.
SB: You looked great last time out Devin, did you do anything different in preparation for the fight?
DV: Well I trained really hard for it, probably the hardest I have ever trained before. I was mentally and physically 100% prepared for Brunelli and I think the results showed that.
SB: You touched on in a previous interview that you have now started weight training. Has it made a difference?
DV: Weight training has made a huge difference in my performance. Again I think the results of my last fight show that. Brunelli was a tough guy fighting out of Philadelphia and I knocked him out a minute and thirty seconds into the first round. I can feel, and even see that my punches are much stronger. I never trained with weights before my last fight. I always was worried that it would slow me down and I would bulk up too much.
But my trainer is great. He has me on a regime where I have not lost any of my speed, and gained tremendous power. I was only on the regime for 4 weeks before. Now for my next fight I should have about 8 weeks of weight training and only see myself getting stronger and producing more devastating knockouts. I’m actually scheduled to get back into my weight training regime this coming Monday.
SB: What do you think of the heavyweight division now and where do you put yourself?
DV: A, well the division is mostly made up of big, slow guys. Most of the guys are older guys, the same guys that have been around for awhile. It’s almost seems as boxing has not let any of the younger heavyweights break into the top ten. You look at the top ten and it seems that they have been there forever. Don’t get me wrong, some, if not most of the guys are deserving of their spots, I just feel that it’s time to let some new guys in.
Let’s be honest how long is John Ruiz going to be considered a top ten heavyweight? I feel that if given 3 months I could easily beat Ruiz. Ultimately I want to just keep fighting, and keep moving up the ranks. I am very confident that if given the chance I can definitely shake things up a bit.
Given my amateur background and what I have done in the pro ranks so far I feel that after 2 more fights there is no reason I shouldn’t be considered one of the top heavyweights in the world. For now though I am just going to continue fighting, continue winning and continue impressing my fans. I just want to show everyone that I belong in mix with the rest of these guys.
SB: Anything you want people to know about you outside of fighting?
DV: Well I love kids. I love interacting with them and also coaching them. I coach my oldest son’s soccer team and I love it. He is five years old. I used to coach a pee-wee football team for awhile too. I also enjoy helping and working with ill children and doing anything I can to contribute to helping them get better. A few years ago I had a boxing show that was a fundraiser for this child I knew who had Leukemia. We raised over $8000 for him. It was one of my proudest moments to date.
SB: Being from Ohio do you have any relationship with Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik?
DV: Yes, I know Kelly. My team and I are actually very familiar with his trainer, Jack Loew. My brother has actually sparred with Kelly in the past. Kelly and I were also on the same U.S. National team so we got to spend time then and got to know each other a bit. This region of Ohio is filled with boxing talent. For some time now we have dominated the amateur ranks. I don’t see why we can’t now dominate the pros. Kelly has the Middleweight championship. I look to follow in his footsteps and capture the Heavyweight belt.
SB: Anything you want to say in closing?
DV: I just want to thank all my fans and the people who have supported me so far throughout my career. I also want to thank my promoter Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing. 2008 is going to be a big year for me. I look to continue to impress and continue to climb the ranks into the heavyweight division.
