BAD BOY IN RING, GOOD FATHER OUTSIDE VARGAS TRIES TO BE THE DAD HE NEVER HAD GROWING UP.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS - Say what you want about Fernando Vargas. Convicted criminal. Thug. Big mouth. Bad boy of boxing.

Get him talking about his kids and you'll fall in love with him.

Vargas, holding court in his penthouse suite a few days before his fight with Oscar De La Hoya on Saturday at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, discussed the biggest event of his career with typical passion. However, he truly came alive when his sons, Fernando Jr., 5, and Amado, 2, were brought up.

Vargas has a strong connection to his boys because his own father abandoned his family, so strong that the mere mention of them can bring his emotions to the surface. Anger for his father, deep love for his children.

Asked to describe his relationship with his sons and, with tears welling in his eyes, he could barely answer.

``When you never had something (as a child) and then you do, ...,'' said Vargas, who then had to pause to regain his composure. ``The way I see my kids, I see myself growing up without a father. I would just do anything for them.''

Vargas' longtime girlfriend, now fiancee, Martha Lopez, gave birth to Fernando Jr. when the fighter was 19, and he helped raise the boy by instinct. At first, as his son grew from infant to toddler, Vargas was alternately overly strict and ridiculously doting.

He told a story of a trip to the toy store when Fernando Jr. was about 2, during which Vargas tried in one wild spree to compensate for all the deprivation of his own childhood.

``I bought like $500, $600, $700 worth of toys,'' said Vargas, pushing boxing aside and reveling in the memory. ``He was 2, 3, he didn't know what was going on. He just ran around and grabbed everything. It was great. I just told him, 'Hey, get whatever you want.' ''

Vargas soon came to the conclusion that such indulgence would one day backfire and made a wise decision: He and Martha would take parenting classes. Anything for his ``cubs,'' as he calls them.

``Everyone is quick to criticize Fernando because of his demeanor when he's ready for combat,'' said Rolando Arellano, his longtime co-manager. ``They don't see him as a parent. He's great with his kids; he's kind of having the childhood he should've had through them.''

As a child, Vargas spent more time in the principal's office than in class - mostly for fighting, an activity in which Fernando Jr. is forbidden to engage unless he has no choice - and he expects more from his own children.

``He's knows if he gets a red card (given for repeated rules violations in the classroom), he's in trouble,'' Vargas said. ``Now, it's like if they're good, they might get something. If Papas (Vargas' pet name for his older son) gets green cards (given for good behavior) if he doesn't hit his brother, he gets something.

``My kids aren't spoiled brats. I'm a disciplinarian at my house.''

Someone asked Fernando Jr. what he planned to do with his life. No hesitation: ``I'm gonna be a boxer like my dad,'' he said and wasn't pleased to hear his mother immediately contradict him.

Apparently the kid has some potential, though. Eduardo Garcia, Vargas' trainer, has shown the boy a few moves and had the opportunity to show them off against an older boy at the gym one day.

Vargas couldn't believe what he saw.

``The kid was 6, I think, and a little taller,'' said Vargas, his face unusually animated, ``and Papas was making him miss and throwing the jab. And Garcia already has him throwing combinations. He landed a right hook and knocked the kid's head back like crazy and the kid started to cry.

``Papas looked at me (and flexed his muscle) and said, `Ya vec! (now look)'. It was sad; the kid was crying, and I told Papas he had to tell the kid, `Good fight,' but I was a happy father and just huuuuuugged him.''

That doesn't mean Vargas wants Fernando and Amado to actually become boxers.

Vargas has had a tough 24 years in many ways. He doesn't want his children to have similar experiences, which is one reason he's moved the family from a rough neighborhood in Oxnard to upscale Spanish Hills in Camarillo. There, he believes, they can focus on getting ahead and not on the sometimes-crippling life in the streets.

He envisions his boys - and more children to come - as college graduates. And, naturally, he plans to be around to watch it unfold.

``I want my kids to go to Harvard, to Yale,'' he said, his head beginning to hang and his voice trailing off. ``I want them to be more than their father. All he can do is fight.''

Not so. Apparently he's not a bad father.

DE LA HOYA vs. VARGAS

Saturday

card begins at 6 p.m.

TV: Pay-per-view

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Fernando Vargas, right, with his oldest son, Fernando Jr. Those around Vargas say he is a great father to his two sons.

Nick Ut/Associated Press

Box:

DE LA HOYA vs. VARGAS (see text)