VARGAS BRINGS PASSION TO FIGHT.

LAS VEGAS - So much has changed for Fernando Vargas.

Nine months ago he was undefeated, a world champion and on the verge of becoming a sizzling-hot commodity, all at 22. Now, after a devastating knockout loss to Felix Trinidad and shaky performance against Wilfredo Rivera, he's a former champ and some wonder whether he'll ever be the same, at 23.

The Oxnard resident will fight friend and former sparring partner Jose ``Shibata'' Flores for the vacant WBA junior middleweight championship tonight at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and a victory would put a belt around his waist again and maintain his ability to earn top dollar.

However, he needs more than a victory, he needs a spectacular victory, one that will begin to re-establish him as a force in this sport.

Two good signs: He's again talking a good game and seems to have regained some of the passion that bubbled over before the Trinidad fight.

``I'm gonna shut up a lot of people,'' he said, referring to those ready to write him off. ``I feel great, I feel strong, I feel quick. I feel everything is together for this fight.''

Vargas (21-1, with 19 knockouts) doesn't have to explain his loss to Trinidad. He went down five times and was stopped in the 12th round but earned admiration with his refusal to quit. The lingering question is whether he can regain his confidence after such a beating.

He says he never lost it. ``I've been through too much to have my confidence broken,'' he said, referring to a difficult childhood.

The Rivera fight is a different story. He was hurt badly and put down in the first round, a moment reminiscent of the Trinidad fight. To his credit, he recovered and went on to knock out a competent opponent in the sixth round but looked nothing like the machine that overwhelmed Raul Marquez and Ike Quartey.

The assumption was he hadn't fully recovered - more emotionally than physically - from the Trinidad fight, and his ability to take a punch is clearly in question.

Vargas blamed the poor performance on the fact he was idle for five months after the Trinidad fight and ballooned to as much as 190 pounds. He said he spent his two-month training camp focused on weight loss; he had to lose 10 pounds the final week, leaving him lethargic and vulnerable.

And he pointed out he was able to stop a fine fighter even on his worst night, which he believes is significant. For this fight, he appears to be in excellent physical condition. He was near his fighting weight of 154 pounds a week ago.

Even so, the boxing world isn't convinced. He needs to do something special to resurrect his image.

Is Flores (42-8, 24 KOs) the opponent against whom to do it? Probably so. The Mexican native is the No. 1 contender largely because of Vargas, whose handlers helped push him up the rankings. And he's not unworthy: He's a solid, experienced fighter who has defeated accomplished opponents.

Flores said the fact he's left-handed will work in his favor - because Vargas, a right-hander, will have to adjust - and suggested that no one underestimate his ``resistance.''

``It's Fernando's skills and strength against my resistance,'' he said. ``We'll see what happens. I'm ready for this fight.''

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FERNANDO VARGAS

He needs to put everything together to make an impact.